Polish farmers who have been blocking the Ukrainian-Polish border are ready to resume their protest on January 2-3 if they do not receive written assurances from the Polish government that their demands will be met, the Polish TV channel TVP Info reports, citing a statement by the head of the National Council of Agrarian Chambers, Viktor Shmulevych.
“The Minister of Agriculture of Poland, after consultations with the government, must satisfy the demands of the farmers who suspended the protest on the Polish-Ukrainian border on Christmas Eve. The resumption of their activities depends on a written statement on the fulfillment of their basic requirements,” the Polish politician said.
The publication reminded that the picketers, who are associated, in particular, with the Podkarpackie Oszukanej Wsi (Deceived All), demand the abolition of the increase in agricultural tax, easier access to soft loans to maintain liquidity of their farms, as well as subsidies for corn in the amount of 1000 zlotys per hectare.
In an interview with TVP Info on Tuesday, Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Sekerski said that work in this area is ongoing.
“I was at the border where I talked to the protesters. But legislative decisions are needed to prepare solutions. We are waiting for the #UE to agree to subsidize corn. We want to preserve low-interest loans. We also want local governments to be able to exempt farmers from agricultural tax increases without losing themselves,” the Polish Ministry of Agriculture quoted Sekerski as saying on Twitter.
Commenting on the demand of the protesting farmers, who insist on regulating the conditions of food imports from Ukraine, Sekerski explained that a trilateral agreement between Warsaw, Kyiv and Brussels is needed.
“Until it is lifted, the embargo on grain imports will remain in place. We have to keep the embargo in place until the conditions that would replace this situation are determined, i.e. limiting the volume of possible inflow of specific agricultural goods. There is some experience that Ukraine has already gained in its relations with Romania and Bulgaria when it comes to restrictions. This will allow us to control these processes,” the minister was quoted as saying by polskieradio24.pl.
Commenting on Sekersky’s interview on TVP Info, the head of the National Council of Agrarian Chambers, Shmulevych, said that the minister is a member of the government and is responsible for the sector that falls within his competence.
“Therefore, if the minister makes such statements, his words are sacred, and I think he has the approval of the government and there should be no problems in this matter,” Shmulevich assessed the situation.
The Polish edition emphasized that a group of Polish farmers is ready to resume the protest on January 2 or 3 in the absence of a written statement from the Polish government on the satisfaction of their demands.
On Sunday morning, Polish farmers ended their protest in front of the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint, and truck traffic has resumed, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) reports.
“According to the Border Guard of the Republic of Poland, today at 09:30 the protest in front of the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint ended. Registration and crossing of trucks entering Ukraine is carried out as usual. Border guards, together with employees of the control services, are working to ensure the passage of the maximum number of trucks,” the message posted on the telegram channel reads.
On December 23, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Poland Michal Kolodziejczak said that Polish farmers had suspended protests at the Shehyni-Medica checkpoint with Ukraine.
Medyka-Shehyni, Polish farmers, SBGS, State Border Guard Service
The exit of trucks from Ukraine to Poland through the “Shehyni” border checkpoint is currently blocked, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
“In front of the checkpoint “Medika” Polish farmers blocked the movement of trucks traveling from Ukraine to Poland. Passage of cars, buses, as well as trucks to enter Ukraine is carried out as usual,” the statement said.
The Border Guard Service promised to report on the resumption of crossing operations, but in the meantime called on truckers to choose other ways to Poland.
