EU headache as Polish farmers vow to continue Ukraine blockade

Ukraine and Moldova starting official negotiations to join the EU was greeted with celebration in many places in the European Union and abroad. However, if that is to become a reality, the thorny issues of economic integration and standardization will have to be dealt with.

On the European Union's eastern frontier with Ukraine, Polish truckers and farmers are blockading half of the border crossings over the access to the EU market Brussels has already granted Ukraine.

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Roman Kondrow is one of the farmers leading the blockade in this region. He told CGTN that they are being squeezed out by grain from Ukraine available at around half the price in Poland.

"The situation here is complicated, and the EU is constantly putting pressure on the grain to be poured in because, of course, we are a border zone, we are as close to Ukraine as possible, and Ukrainian trucks transport it to our region," he said.

Kondrow has pleaded that the grain from Ukraine not be allowed to remain in Poland, crushing the prices for farmers.

"We asked for the grain to be transported in solidarity to Africa, to the countries of the Western EU, for the grain to be transported there, and not to be flooded on our local market because we can no longer make money."

Last year, Brussels authorized Ukrainian grain to be allowed into the EU through solidarity lanes. Ukrainian farmers do not have to adhere to EU regulations on things like wages and production. This means that the Ukrainian produce hit Polish markets in this region at far lower prices.

There is no quick fix to this. Kondrow says the last Polish government made them promises that they expect Donald Tusk's new administration to keep, including cash payments of up to around $255 per hectare of land owned. 

The letters from the Ministry of Agriculture in Warsaw are printed out and stuck to the wall of the portacabin that serves as blockade HQ. He showed them to CGTN, pointing out the three key elements.

"This is what we were promised," he said. "The first is simply compensation of PLN 1,000 ($254.09) per hectare, PLN 700 ($177.86), depending on the region. The second is to restore credit and liquidity so we can take loans to stop farms from going under. And the third is not to increase the agricultural tax for farmers by 21 percent.”

Support for Ukraine is very high across Poland. Grzegorz is one of the farmers taking part in the blockade. He spoke to CGTN as he warmed himself by a fire in an oil drum on the picket line, saying that support cannot be at the expense of their businesses.

He complained: "Some things are unacceptable, like what we see in the agricultural or transport industries. They have suffered greatly. Some actions were taken in a not very well-thought-out way, and farmers and haulage companies were damaged. And through this, we still support the people, for the Ukrainians."

For now, the new Polish government has said it will keep limits on Ukrainian grain imports, a move Ukraine's deputy economy minister, Taras Kachka, has called "illegal and counterproductive."

As Ukraine enters into formal negotiations to join the EU, these are the issues that will need to be sorted out, which is much easier said than done.

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