Polish farmers plan general strike, blockade of Ukraine border

Reuters
Updated Fri, February 2, 2024

FILE PHOTO: Farmers protest in Brussels


WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish farmers from the Solidarity trade union plan a general strike starting next Friday with a blockade of border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, it said, joining similar protests all over Europe.

Farmers in France, Belgium, Portugal, Greece and Germany have been protesting against the constraints placed on them by EU measures to tackle climate change, as well as rising costs and unfair competition from abroad. Polish farmers have been particularly vocal about the impact of cheap food imports from neighbouring Ukraine.

"Our patience has run out. Brussels' position on the last day of January 2024 is unacceptable for our entire agricultural community," the trade union said in a statement dated Thursday.

"Additionally, the passivity of the Polish authorities... regarding the import of agricultural produce and food products from Ukraine leave us with no other choice but to declare a general strike."

The European Commission said it was listening closely to the concerns expressed by farmers in protests taking place in several member states.

"In relation to the specific concerns outlined by farmers at the present time, the Commission is assessing possible next steps," a spokesperson for the Commission wrote in an emailed response to Reuters' request for comment.

Solidarity said that, apart from the blockade of crossings with Ukraine, it planned on-off blockades of roads throughout the country between Feb. 9 and March 10.

Poland's agriculture ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

A separate organisation of Polish farmers earlier blocked a key border crossing with Ukraine, but the protest was suspended on Jan. 6 after the new government agreed to its demands.

European farmers' frustration came to a head in Brussels on Thursday, when farmers threw eggs at the European Parliament and started fires as they demanded EU leaders do more to help them.

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Additional reporting by Piotr Lipinski; Editing by Nick Macfie and Christina Fincher)


Polish farmers plot new blockade of Ukrainian border

Ukrainska Pravda
Fri, February 2, 2024 



Polish farmers from the Solidarity trade union have announced a general protest, with roads and border crossings into Ukraine to be blocked.

Source: Polish radio station RMF24, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The trade union noted that in a week's time – on Friday, 9 February, at 10:00 – all border crossings with Ukraine will be blocked. The duration of the action has not yet been revealed.

Furthermore, temporary road blockades will begin in some of Poland's voivodeships (provinces). They will last from 9 February to 10 March.

Polish farmers are dissatisfied with the European Commission's proposal to extend the suspension of import quotas and duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year.

"Our patience has worn thin. Brussels' position on the last day of January 2024 is unacceptable for our entire agricultural community. Moreover, the passivity of the Polish authorities, declarations of cooperation with the European Commission and remarks about compliance with all decisions of the European Commission on imports of agricultural products and food from Ukraine leave us no choice but to call a general strike," the union said in a statement.

Polish farmers say they will fight for this "to the end".

One of the leaders of the Solidarity agrarian union is Robert Telus, a former minister of agriculture in the former Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS or Law and Justice) government.

Background: On Wednesday, the European Commission officially proposed to extend the suspension of import quotas and duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year while including safeguards for agricultural products, as demanded by several member states.

Polish farmers to stage more protests at Ukrainian border, nationwide

Dmytro Basmat
Fri, February 2, 2024 



Polish farmers’ Solidarity trade union announced a nationwide strike on Feb. 1 that will start with the blockading of all Polish border crossings with Ukraine.

Polish farmers began widespread protests across the country on Jan. 24 on the heels of a several-month-long series of demonstrations and border blockades by Polish truckers, who said that the liberalization of permits for Ukrainian truckers had hurt their domestic businesses.

Farmers in France, Belgium, Portugal, Greece, and Germany have also been protesting what they claim are the negative impacts on farming of the EU’s efforts to address climate change, as well as the influx of cheap Ukrainian imports to aid Ukraine’s war effort.

“Our patience has worn thin. The position of Brussels on the last day of January 2024 is unacceptable for our entire agricultural community,” Solidarity said in a statement, referring to what it deems as inaction on the part of the EU, which is headquartered in Belgium.

“Additionally, the passivity of the Polish authorities and declarations of cooperation with the European Commission ... regarding the import of agricultural produce and food products from Ukraine leave us with no other choice but to declare a general strike.”

In addition to blocking Poland’s border crossings with Ukraine, Solidarity said it would plan blockades of roads across Poland between Feb. 9 and March 10.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Jan. 24 that he would try to address Polish farmers’ concerns in a way that does not violate EU regulations and would be acceptable for the Ukrainian and Polish sides.

He also acknowledged that such an agreement would probably be “accepted with difficulty” by Ukrainians.

The new round of demonstrations came as the truckers’ protest appeared to have at least been temporarily halted.

Polish truckers suspended their blockade of the border last week, lifting the closure of the final border crossing on Jan. 16.

Romanian farmers and truckers have held similar protests at Ukrainian border crossings for months, protesting the economic impacts of a free trade agreement that have sparked worries about uneven competition and risks to domestic production. They have warned that more protests may be held along the Romanian border if the EU does not give into its demands.

Read also: Polish farmers begin protest against Ukrainian agricultural imports