Poland is trying to resolve the issue of farmers’ protests against Ukrainian agricultural imports, President Andrzej Duda said in an interview for Ukrainian state-owned online news outlet Suspilne.
Polish farmers have been staging protests across Poland, joining their European peers in a spate of road blockades that spanned the EU in response to Brussels' plans to make the European economy and farming greener. They have also been angered by EU-facilitated imports of Ukrainian products to Poland, which they see as undermining their local markets.
“Above all, I want to say that we are trying to solve this problem,” the president assured.
"Some time ago we had protests of the workers’ unions and of the haulers associations... and those protests have been stopped precisely as a result of - one might say - trilateral negotiations... between Poland, Ukraine, and the transport industry. I hope that we can solve this issue in a similar way - calmly and through negotiations,” he said.
The farmers’ position
The Polish head of state argued that the reason for the protests was “the massive influx of Ukrainian agricultural products on the markets of other EU countries.”
“In their view, the situation should be controlled because they fear for their livelihood,” Duda explained, adding that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is the reason behind this problem.
Poland’s response
When it comes to the way the Polish side is handling the issue, Duda said that “it was never the case that Poland shut itself off to Ukrainian products.”
“Indeed, on account of the crisis on our market and a drastic drop in the prices of agricultural goods – including wheat – Poland closed its interior market for Ukrainian wheat but never blocked the transport of wheat through Poland,” he added. “That’s very important.”
Duda also expressed hope that the protests against Ukrainian agricultural imports can be resolved, but stressed that in a democratic country such as Poland, the right to protest is guaranteed by law. Therefore, he emphasized that peaceful negotiations between the farmers and the authorities was the appropriate course of action.
“Above all, I want to say that we are trying to solve this problem,” the president assured.
"Some time ago we had protests of the workers’ unions and of the haulers associations... and those protests have been stopped precisely as a result of - one might say - trilateral negotiations... between Poland, Ukraine, and the transport industry. I hope that we can solve this issue in a similar way - calmly and through negotiations,” he said.
The farmers’ position
The Polish head of state argued that the reason for the protests was “the massive influx of Ukrainian agricultural products on the markets of other EU countries.”
“In their view, the situation should be controlled because they fear for their livelihood,” Duda explained, adding that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is the reason behind this problem.
Poland’s response
When it comes to the way the Polish side is handling the issue, Duda said that “it was never the case that Poland shut itself off to Ukrainian products.”
“Indeed, on account of the crisis on our market and a drastic drop in the prices of agricultural goods – including wheat – Poland closed its interior market for Ukrainian wheat but never blocked the transport of wheat through Poland,” he added. “That’s very important.”
Duda also expressed hope that the protests against Ukrainian agricultural imports can be resolved, but stressed that in a democratic country such as Poland, the right to protest is guaranteed by law. Therefore, he emphasized that peaceful negotiations between the farmers and the authorities was the appropriate course of action.
Source:
More In Politics MORE...
