Polish farmers announce a month-long blockade of the border with Ukraine
2 February 15:32
Polish farmers have announced a new nationwide strike that will begin on 9 February and last until 10 March. It was initiated by the independent farmers’ union Solidarity, reports citing the union.
“Our patience has run out. Brussels’ position on the last day of January 2024 is unacceptable to our entire agricultural community,”
– solidarity said in a statement.
The farmers pointed to the inaction of the Polish authorities and their refusal to take into account the interests of the agricultural sector in the context of European decisions on the import of agricultural products and food from Ukraine. In this regard, the farmers determined that a general strike should be declared, which would begin with a blockade of all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, as well as blocking roads and motorways in certain voivodeships
Farmers are planning to block all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, as well as roads and motorways across the country, starting on 9 February at 10:00 am.
on 31 January, the European Commission proposed to extend the duty-free regime for Ukraine’s exports until mid-2025, but with new conditions, including quotas on the most sensitive products such as poultry, eggs and sugar. If these quotas are exceeded, duties will be imposed. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU are scheduled to discuss the European Commission’s proposal.
Blockade of Ukrainian borders
Ukraine’s economy has suffered losses of more than €1.5 billion due to the suspension of operations at the western border crossing points over the past two months.
On 6 November, Polish transport companies began blocking truck traffic at three major checkpoints on the Ukrainian border: “Korczowa-Krakowiec, Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska and Dorohusk-Yagodyn. One of the requirements was to reinstate the permits for Ukrainian carriers that had been cancelled under the agreement with the EU by 30 June 2024.
On6 January, truck traffic to the Medyka-Shehyni border crossingin Poland resumed. Three other border crossing points were opened on 17 January, namely Dorohusk – Yagodyn, Hrebenne – Rava-Ruska, and Korczowa – Krakivets.
In Romania, on 13 and 14 January, local farmers blocked the movement of Ukrainian trucks through the Siret checkpoint, and on 15 January, they began blocking the Vicovu de Sus checkpoint. on 18 January, Romanian farmers began blocking the Dyakove-Halmeu checkpoint. However, as of 20 January, these checkpoints were reopened.
The preferential trade regime and its opponents
Many EU members do not like the quota-free import of Ukrainian products to the EU, which was in effect in 2022-2023. In particular, a number of Eastern European countries are demanding that the EU impose import duties on Ukrainian goods, citing unfair competition. The agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia sent a letter to the European Commission asking for action, saying that cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine were eating into their export markets.
The Ukrainian side tried to reach an agreement with the ‘problematic’ countries.” In particular, on 26 January, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution that improves the rules for exporting certain types of agricultural products. According to the resolution, a company may be excluded from the list of verified agricultural entities if it violates these rules.
In preparing the decision, the European Commission also considered special mechanisms for each individual country, which would have been to stop the export of Ukrainian goods to a particular national market if this product oversaturates it. The current decision of the EC seems to be even tougher than expected, and it restores quotas for some Ukrainian products, even if they are at the average level of Ukrainian exports.