In Poland, farmers block around a hundred roads and crossings to Ukraine

They denounce in particular Ukrainian agri-food imports deemed “uncontrolled” and demand a review of European rules.

New episode of tensions around grain. Polish farmers blocked around a hundred roads and border crossing points towards Ukraine on Tuesday February 20, in particular to denounce Ukrainian agri-food imports deemed “uncontrolled” and to demand a review of European rules. These actions are part of a large movement of protests by farmers across the European continent, generally making the same demands.

Dozens of tractors flocked to Ryki, 100 kilometers southeast of Warsaw, from where they set out to block the S17 expressway leading to the city of Lublin and further towards the border with Ukraine. Farmers displayed white and red flags of Poland on their vehicles, with signs proclaiming: “stop the uncontrolled influx of Ukrainian goods” Or “agriculture is dying little by little”. This year, “wheat is selling for half the price of last year”, said Tomasz Golak, one of the participants. According to another farmer, Michal Magnuszewski, European policies are in “total failure”.

“We, when we transport something abroad, we go through hundreds of different checks whereas here, nothing at all, it arrives here and that’s it.”

Tomasz Golak, Polish farmer

to AFP

The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the blockade of the Polish border by Polish truckers and farmers demonstrated “the erosion of solidarity” towards his country. This quarrel and the accusations of “unfair competition” Ukraine has strained relations between kyiv and Warsaw, which has been one of Ukraine’s most fervent supporters since the start of the Russian invasion.

A text examined by EU members

Last week, angry farmers dumped a shipment of Ukrainian grain on the road, sparking strong reactions in Ukraine, a country with a strong agricultural tradition. Since the start of the war, road traffic with Poland has been crucial to allowing Ukrainian companies to continue exporting. But this has angered Polish farmers and transport companies, who complain about Ukrainian tariffs, with which they cannot compete.

The European Commission proposed at the end of January to renew for an additional year, from June, the exemption from customs duties granted to Ukraine since spring 2022 to support the country at war. But by combining it with “safeguard measures” to limit the impact of imports. So, “corrective measures” could be adopted in the event of “significant disruptions” on the market, and for three products: poultry, eggs, sugar.

This text, now examined by member states and MEPs, is not satisfied by Copa-Cogeca (the organization bringing together the majority agricultural unions in the EU) and five European organizations representing key sectors (beet, cereals/oilseeds, poultry). , eggs).