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| Europe |
| Ultimatum: Brussels will have to choose who it is with - Warsaw or Kiev |
| 2023-09-14 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Stanislav Stremidlovsky [REGNUM] After Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that Warsaw would in any case ban the import of Ukrainian grain into the country, the European Parliament decided to react at the political level. Let us recall that on September 12, Morawiecki’s statement appeared on the Polish government portal. In it, he shifted responsibility for the fact that “ cheaper Ukrainian grain flooded ” Poland to certain companies that wanted to make money from it and did not think about the interests of Polish farmers, as well as the European Union, which for a long time did not want to “ notice the problem of grain imports from Ukraine”. Therefore, the Polish government will “maintain a complete ban on the import of Ukrainian grain after September 15” (the deadline previously set by the European Commission for Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia). The Prime Minister explained this violation of general trade rules and EU legislation purely by the interests of Polish farmers. But the European Parliament accused the Polish authorities of an opportunistic political game. On September 12, a debate took place in the EP regarding ensuring the import of Ukrainian grain after September 15. Although the decision to extend or lift the embargo will be made not by deputies, but by the European Commission, the voice of legislators will be taken into account. As the Polish portal Tygodnik Poradnik Rolniczy notes, most of the MEPs who took part in the debate opposed the extension of the embargo. Representatives of the European People's Party, Socialists and Democrats, Liberals and Greens said that the European Union should help Ukraine sell grain. “Everything possible must be done to develop export opportunities, but some populist politicians in Hungary or Poland are taking advantage of this as elections approach,” said German MEP Viola von Cramon-Taubadel. "In my opinion, Ukrainian agriculture deserves 100% support. We must ensure grain gets to those who need it and fight those who try to stop those exports." Spanish MEP Clara Aguilera stressed that the European Commission should not be concerned that an election campaign is underway in Poland. “We need to ensure grain exports from Ukraine,” she commented. “The fact that there are elections in Poland is not our problem.” In turn, MEP from Lithuania Andrius Kubilius accused “ some governments of Central European countries ” of using populist measures. The German business publication bne IntelliNews quotes Morawiecki as saying during an election rally in the town of Kosów Lacki that he “sent an ultimatum to the European Commission” with a “clear demand - either you extend the ban on the import of four Ukrainian grains until October 15, or we ourselves Let's extend this ban." Voting for elections to the Sejm and Senate of Poland will take place on October 15. Perhaps Warsaw is hinting to Brussels that its position will change after this date? The question is whether the Kiev regime will be satisfied with this. Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal promised to initiate proceedings against Poland at the World Trade Organization. “In the event of a violation of trade law in favor of pre-election political populism, Ukraine will be forced to apply to WTO arbitration for compensation for damages for violating the norms of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,” Shmygal said. According to one of the Ukrainian publications, the Polish authorities are seriously concerned about possible image losses, especially “if Kiev is active in this matter.” And he is determined. Ukraine would like to export about 56 million tons of grain this year. This implies monthly land exports through the “solidarity corridors” of 4.7 million tons. Now the average monthly volume is 3.2 million tons. Expanding existing routes and organizing new ones requires additional costs. If the European Commission agrees to extend the embargo beyond September 15, it will have to find an additional 300 million euros to subsidize the transport of approximately 10 million tons of grain. And Brussels will have to choose who it is with—Warsaw or Kiev. It is possible that in this situation the Kiev regime will decide to take non-standard measures. The Polish magazine Myśl Polska drew attention to a number of statements made by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky during the Yalta European Strategy forum. “He switched to threats against Europe,” the publication writes. “In his opinion, until now, Ukrainian refugees have behaved “with dignity” and “showed gratitude” to the European countries hosting them. However, everything could change if European countries withdraw or reduce support for Kyiv. “It is difficult to predict how millions of Ukrainian refugees in European countries will react if their country is abandoned,” Zelensky warned.” As President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated, today “four million Ukrainians have found shelter” in the European Union. Most of them are concentrated in Poland. It is possible that they were precisely what Zelensky had in mind when he talked about the unpredictable reaction of “millions of Ukrainian refugees” who would see how Poland “abandoned ” Ukraine. The head of the office of the President of Poland, Pavel Sprat, recently announced a new meeting between his boss Andrzej Duda and the President of Ukraine. One of the topics will be the Polish ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. In it, Duda is on Morawiecki's side. Let's see how Zelensky reacts to this and what arguments he will give to his colleague. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #2 /\ There is some evidence to suggest the term 'Eurocentric' may have been invented in Brussels. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-09-14 15:22 |
| #1 Brussels doesn't much care for Poland to begin with. The Poles seem to feel that they should have some say in things. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-09-14 13:40 |