Poland, Ukraine working to avoid border queues during Euro 2012

Poland and Ukraine are working on how to avoid border queues during next year's Euro 2012 European Soccer Championship tournament co-hosted by the two countries, local media reported on Tuesday. Special lanes for fans, joint customs and border control checks, clearance proceedings in trains en route to cities hosting soccer matches are among a number of steps aimed at improving the flow of border traffic during the tournament. Piotr Patla from the HQ of the Polish Border Guard said two additional border crossings between Poland and Ukraine will be opened before the start of the tournament on June 8, 2012. He added that the speed of border control will also depend on fans who should remember about passports. "It will be impossible to cross the border only by showing a ticket for a match. Regardless of the rank of the event, procedures stemming from the Schengen border code have to be met," Patla was quoted as saying. Poland will also set up special visa offices for Ukrainians in areas remote from Polish consulates and embassies. Polish diplomatic officials in Kiev said that the new offices will process visa application much faster than to date. The first two visa stations will open in Ivano-Frankovsk and Lvov. The 16-nation Euro 2012 soccer championships, slated for June 8-July 1, 2012, will take place in four Polish cities of Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan as well as four Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Lvov, Donetsk and Kharkov.