A nationwide protest by farmers begins today in Poland demanding that their farms be protected from imports from third countries, especially Ukraine.
According to RMF FM, farmers in more than 150 places in the country want to take to the streets of cities and villages with their tractors and other machinery.
In most cases, the protest will not take the form of a blockade, but rather a slow column or a demonstration along the street.
A central demand of the protest is to stop “uncontrolled imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and other countries outside the EU that do not meet European standards.”
Polish farmers emphasize that they are in a non-competitive position as they have to comply with a number of regulations in their activities and spend additional money on certain environmental protection measures, while producers in third countries are not subject to these requirements.
They also want the Ausacall for the creation of a “strategy for Ukraine's accession to the EU in the field of agriculture” with a division into sectors.
Another demand of the demonstrators is the revision of the common European policy in the field of agriculture. In particular, they come with a number of limitations in the Zusammenhang are dissatisfied with the European Green Deal and are calling for changes and more “flexibility” in the national strategy for the entire period up to 2027.
As previously reported, Ukraine has offered Poland a mechanism to verify exports of agricultural products in line with the European Commission's decision, which is already working well with Romania and Bulgaria.
Source: Ukragroconsult (Russian)
