Tensions escalate on border with Ukraine, Poland calls for EU help

The Polish government has called on the European Commission (EC) – the executive arm of the European Union (EU) – to help defuse a dispute with Ukraine over grain after farmers blocked border crossings and disrupted imports.

Protests have intensified in recent days, with 2,500 trucks stuck trying to cross from Poland on February 21, according to Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's Border Guard Service.

Farmers also disrupted passenger and rail traffic from Ukraine, spilling grain onto the tracks at a border crossing on February 20, drawing condemnation from officials in both countries. More than 200 protests were reported across Poland on February 20 alone.

The developments highlight escalating tensions between the two Eastern European neighbours over the impact of imported goods on local farming communities.

Bilateral and pan-European solutions needed

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi and his Polish counterpart Czeslaw Siekierski met on February 21 in an attempt to find a deal but made little progress.

The Ukrainian government is now planning to build an additional route across the Danube River to divert grain shipments to protect the country's main source of income, which is currently mired in conflict with Russia.

“The negotiations were very difficult and we did not make any quick progress,” Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister Michal Kolodziejczak told Polsat News. “The voice of the European Commission and its President will be very important here.”

Polish farmers block traffic during a protest in front of the Polish-Ukrainian border crossing in Dorohusk, southeastern Poland, February 20, 2024. Photo: Brussels Signal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media on February 21 that he hopes to hold a meeting at the border between himself, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and an EU representative ahead of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine (February 24, 2022 - February 24, 2024) to resolve the current worrying situation.

“We have had enough misunderstandings. We should not humiliate each other, we should not humiliate Ukrainian or Polish farmers. We need unity. We need solutions – bilaterally, between Ukraine and Poland, and at the European level,” Zelensky said in a statement.

Earlier on February 21, the Ukrainian leader held a meeting with his ministers, where the border closure was the main topic. On Telegram, Mr. Zelensky stressed that trade liberalization between Ukraine and the EU should continue, and thanked the EC for its “clear position” on the issue.

The protests pose a challenge to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who just weeks after taking office last December had to find a way to quell a months-long border blockade by Polish truck drivers.

Mr Tusk's government is now trying to balance appeasing a politically powerful group in Poland while not disrupting vital aid to Kiev as Ukraine struggles with a lack of US military aid.

Farmers dump grain at the Medyka border crossing on the Polish side, February 20, 2024. Photo: The Guardian

While the EC has proposed safeguard measures on imports from Ukraine, Polish Deputy Agriculture Minister Kolodziejczak said Warsaw wants the EU to introduce region-wide quotas on a number of other Ukrainian products.

Before being appointed to the current government led by Mr Tusk, Mr Kolodziejczak led farmers' protests last year that forced the previous government to impose a ban on Ukrainian grain.

Deeply worrying developments

Shipments of grain can currently only transit Poland on their way to ports on the Baltic Sea or elsewhere in Europe. But Polish farmers have called on the government to close the border to other food products, including sugar and frozen fruit. They claim much of the imported produce is of low quality or illegally shipped.

The border blockade is hurting Ukraine’s ability to defend itself as the Eastern European country waits for vital supplies from its allies to use in its fight against Russia, a senior official said this week.

The Polish government has denied the claim, saying deliveries of military aid and other supplies to Ukraine are still taking place under police escort.

But the protests are starting to affect the public mood. For example, a sign on a Polish protester’s tractor calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to come and sort things out in Ukraine has sparked outrage and prompted calls on social media for a boycott of Polish goods.

Poland's Foreign Ministry on February 21 expressed deep concern over what it described as anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian slogans at farmers' protests, calling it a provocation by Moscow.

A Ukrainian truck driver at the Rava-Ruska border crossing hangs a flag in front of his truck in protest against Polish farmers, February 20, 2024. Photo: Getty Images

Ukraine’s Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said that blockades continued to affect the main border crossing with Poland at Yahodyn-Dorohusk on February 21. At four other crossings, Polish protesters allowed only three trucks to pass per hour, according to Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Border Guard Service.

“It is clear that Ukraine wants to find markets for its products near its borders,” said Polish Deputy Minister Kolodziejczak. “But it should be clear to all of us, including Ukraine, that the Polish market is too small for such products.”

In an effort to respond to farmers’ concerns, EU member states on February 21 backed proposals from Brussels for “safeguard measures” to prevent cheap Ukrainian agricultural imports from flooding the market and undercutting Polish products.

The EC proposal provides for “rapid remedial action in the event of significant disruption to the EU market”.

For the most sensitive products – poultry, eggs and sugar – an “emergency brake” will be applied to prevent future imports from rising beyond the average volume of 2022 and 2023.

After being given the green light by a majority of member states, the proposal will have to be negotiated in the European Parliament (EP) before coming into effect .

Minh Duc (According to Bloomberg, DW, Al Jazeera)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/cang-thang-leo-thang-o-bien-gioi-voi-ukraine-ba-lan-cau-cuu-eu-a650763.html