Polish farmers have closed a Polish-Slovak border crossing near Barwyn in the southeastern part of the country, because they believe Ukrainian grain is also flowing into Poland here – bypassing the blockade of the Ukrainian-Polish border. In the second half of the week, farmers plan to carry out a similar action at a border crossing in Lithuania.
Poland's largest opposition party, the conservative Law and Justice Party, called on the Polish government to impose an immediate ban on goods coming from Ukraine. This probably won't happen, because it would be against EU trade rules.
a Notes from Poland According to local media reports, farmers arrived at the border crossing with dozens of tractors at around 10:00 a.m. on Monday. At first they closed the borders completely, then after an hour they started allowing one truck every hour in both directions. For this reason, by the afternoon, trucks were crowded in long queues on both sides, and the passage of passenger cars was unhindered.
Maciej Wierzowski, the main organizer of the demonstration, told Polish media that they check what the trucks are carrying and only those trucks that are not grain are allowed to pass. Another demonstrator said: “We hope that the situation will be settled at the national level, and an agreement will be reached with the government, and that farmers will not go to work on the roads, but in the fields.” The border closure is scheduled to continue until Thursday evening.
Farmers have also started a series of demonstrations in Poland over cheap Ukrainian grain and EU climate protection measures, which they believe harm the interests of local producers. They say that no one asks them, and that their government and the European Union support Ukrainian farmers, but not them. Producers in many countries of the region suffer from the fact that Ukrainian grain leads to lower prices.
The mayor of a nearby Polish town who supports the farmers stressed that they have no problem with the Ukrainian people, they support them, but now they are also fighting for their jobs. The Polish government has already assured the farmers of its support, and they hope that a solution to the problem caused by the influx of Ukrainian grain will be reached as soon as possible at the EU level.
