The geopolitical situation in Europe is getting more complex daily – and in Poland, things are no different.
While the Poles are one of the closer and more engaged allies of Ukraine in its military confrontation against Russia, when it comes to Agrarian policy, the two countries are perpetually at odds.
With the low prices of the agrarian commodities, and with Polish storehouses filled with grain, Warsaw can’t possibly allow the low-priced products from Ukraine to flood its market and send the prices even lower.
So Poland is taking a shockingly rare common sense decision: it will stand by the interest of its farmers, rather than ideological or geopolitical considerations.
On April, the European Commission (EC) reached an agreement with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, dealing on restrictions to be applied on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products.
On May 2, EC also announced the adoption of a temporary ban regarding imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine the ban is supposed to end on September 15.
But Poland will not allow imports of grain from Kiev, regardless of the European decision.
Polish agriculture Minister Robert Telus made this announcement in Córdoba, Spain, where EU Agriculture Ministers met in Córdoba to discuss ‘new technologies for balanced agriculture’.
Polish news site TVP reported:
“’I convinced my interlocutors that closing the market for Ukrainian grain is in the interest of other EU countries. They claim that we must build solidarity – this is the moment when we pass the exam of this solidarity’, said Telus.
He added that in his opinion the talks in Córdoba were fruitful and he believed that the ministers of other EU countries understood the situation.”
The Minister alerted that in spite of the ban on Ukrainian grain to Poland, Warsaw will ‘continue to facilitate its transit through Polish territory’.
But as for the European decision, Poland has already prepared themselves for an adverse decision that they will not implement.
“’I am aware that it will not be the Agricultural Ministries who make decisions and that the decision may not be substantive, but political. Eventually, the European Council will make it’, noted Telus.
He stressed that Polish farmers can rest assured that even if the EU ban on Ukrainian grain imports is not extended, Poland nevertheless will decide on not letting it in ‘because it is in our interest’.
This compounds what the Minister had said just days ago:
“We will not allow Ukrainian grain to enter Poland after September 15 as the interests of Polish farmers are for us more important than any EU regulations.”
Read more about Poland and Ukraine: