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| Europe |
| Knife in the back. Poland refused to open the border for Ukrainian grain |
| 2023-07-21 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Stanislav Stremidlovsky [Regnum] Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced Warsaw's refusal to comply with the European Commission's resolution requiring the opening of borders for the import of cereals from Ukraine. According to the prime minister, " we will not open the border ", and " if the European Commission does not extend the ban, we will do it ourselves." Morawiecki made his statement during a meeting organized at the initiative of Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus. It was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture of Hungary Istvan Nagy, Slovakia Józef Bires , Romania Florin-Ionuts Barbu and Bulgaria Kirill Vitev. The meeting participants signed a declaration on the need to extend the "preventive measures" against the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower from Ukraine after September 15, 2023. The developed document will be presented at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the European Union in Brussels on July 25, 2023. “From the point of view of the agricultural sector, the war in Ukraine is causing more and more serious consequences for the agricultural market ,” said Morawiecki. — The government has adopted the principle: they should not be destructive to Polish agriculture. That is why we closed the borders for products from Ukraine when they flooded into the country and destabilized the agricultural market.” At the same time, Warsaw declares that its actions "are not directed against Ukraine." However, Kiev seems to hold the opposite opinion. The Minister of Agriculture of Ukraine Roman Leshchenko was invited to a meeting in the Polish capital, but contrary to preliminary agreements, he never arrived. Moreover, on the day of the meeting, the Ukrainian government news agency Ukrіnform published an interview with Ukraine's ambassador to Poland, Vasily Zvarych , in which they discussed grain problems. The diplomat noted that for the Kiev regime, the agricultural industry "is almost the only one that generates income and helps fill the budget of Ukraine focused on military purposes." Therefore, Zvarych said, "We are against any unilateral steps prohibiting the export of Ukrainian products to the EU countries ." Kyiv believes that this issue should be resolved within the framework of the European Union, being the prerogative of Brussels. “There should be no unilateral embargoes or restrictions from the EU on Ukrainian products,” the ambassador said. However, the ruling Polish party "Law and Justice" (PiS) during the current election campaign for elections to the Sejm and the Senate is forced to reckon with the farmers, and not with Kiev. On the day when the ministers of the five countries gathered for their meeting, a picket of the “Deceived Village” movement was held in front of the building of the Ministry of Agriculture of Poland. The protesters drew attention to the fact that after the collapse of the grain deal, which allowed the Kiev regime to export products by sea, the risk of Ukrainian grain inflow by land increased, which "could lead to destabilization of the Polish market." The Deceived Village urged the government to pay close attention to "unfair competition from the Ukrainian side." Members of the movement believe that Warsaw is actually helping not an ordinary Ukrainian farmer, but " international agricultural holdings whose business in Ukraine is under threat." Judgments of this kind indicate the trend of Polish public opinion, which is convinced of the danger for Poland of the “European integration” of Ukraine. There is no good solution here, says Jacek Piechota , president of the Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce , as " it is extremely difficult to look after the interests of Polish farmers and support Ukraine at the same time ." And it's not just that. As the Polish magazine Do Rzeczy points out, it is unlikely that Polish-Ukrainian "friendship" will stand the test of time in the future. Ukraine will become Poland's main competitor in the West, since Kyiv will focus not so much on Warsaw as on Western European capitals. Ukrainian agriculture, largely controlled by Western corporations that run large enterprises, will create big problems for Polish farmers. An example of this, the newspaper notes, is the import of Ukrainian grain and raspberries this year. “Poland has achieved its grandiose successes over the past thirty years, of course, unintentionally, largely at the expense of Ukraine,” the magazine states. Suffice it to recall that the Polish GDP over the past 30 years has grown more than five times, while the Ukrainian GDP over the same period is still at the 1991 level. At the same time, Ukrainians have great advantages. Cheap labor, cheap energy, less fragmented agriculture.” It is clear that "Law and Justice" cannot afford to openly identify with the above opinion. But she can't ignore it either. In this situation, PiS will try to shift the arrows to Brussels, accusing it of putting pressure on Poland to allow the import of Ukrainian crops. The ruling party will probably convince its supporters. But will swing voters believe her? This appears to be debatable. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 Polish farmers don't want Ukrainian grain undercutting the Polish market. Understandable. Transshipment for export is allowed. |
| Posted by: Enver Slager8035 2023-07-21 20:37 |