Nationwide farmer protests in Poland force government to negotiate over Ukrainian food imports

03/29/2024 / By Ava Grace

The Polish government has reached an agreement with organizations of farmers to end nationwide protests that have paralyzed the nation.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czeslaw Siekierski of the agrarian Polish People’s Party concluded talks with representatives of several farmers organizations and trade unions. In this agreement, the government agreed to suspend imports of cheap Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland and their transit to other European nations.

The suspended protest actions by farmers oppose the anti-farmer agricultural policies of the European Union and one of its main demands was to stop the import of agricultural goods from Ukraine. The country’s farmers set up over 500 roadblocks across Poland as part of the protests. (Related: Thousands of Slovenian farmers join Dutch-led tractor protests – end the EU green agenda now.)

Key locations were blocked, from provincial cities to expressways, highways and border crossings. The Nationwide Association for the Defense of Farmers Producers and Processors’ Rights announced that the protest brought Poland to a standstill.

At the time, Adrian Wawrzyniak, spokesman for the agricultural union Solidarity, pointed out how the protests acted as “a star-shaped invasion of every provincial city” that saw dozens, if not hundreds, of farmers’ tractors blocking roads and highways.

The farmers’ protests began on Feb. 9, and by March 6, farmers were routinely clashing with police, including law enforcement units who prevented farmers’ representatives from entering the Polish parliament’s building in Warsaw.

Polish government close to signing export deal with Ukraine

As part of the agreement with the farmers, the liberal and left-wing coalition government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed to open negotiations with Ukraine on food imports.

It should be noted that the Ukrainian government in Kyiv has been hesitant to come to the negotiating table, with the government claiming that the protests in Poland are harming its economy and its war effort amidst Russia’s special military operation. It further claimed that only a small portion of Ukrainian grain actually transits through Poland on its way to the wider world.

Nevertheless, Tusk recently concluded the first round of talks with his Ukrainian counterparty Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, both of whom spoke warmly of their countries’ cooperation in a press conference.

“We are close to a solution,” said Tusk. “This applies to the amount of products that can flow into Poland, once we determine it, we are close to ensuring that transit does not disturb the Polish market.”

“Today, I can say that we definitely have progress regarding lifting of the [border] blockade,” said Shmyhal, who added that the talks with Tusk were “extremely constructive” and intensive.

Poland’s goal is to get Ukraine to agree to a licensing deal for agricultural trade similar to the one Kyiv agreed to with Romania and Bulgaria.

“I am glad that today we have agreed that solutions that work well from the point of view of protecting the Romanian and Bulgarian markets will also be used in our relations,” said Tusk.

Siekierski noted that talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solsky, were currently revolving around specific details over the export licenses, including which products would be covered. Solsky said in a statement that the discussions were ongoing and “complicated but frank.”

“It is important that we have already discussed solutions that will soon be announced. At the same time, the issue is difficult for all parties and requires additional time,” said Solsky.

Watch this clip of a farmers protest in Brussels, the heart of the European Union.

This video is from the Cynthia’s Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.