Polish farmers blocking the Ukrainian border have suspended their protest but threatened to close the border again unless their demands are met by December 10th. The farmers had blockaded one of the border crossings over the weekend to protest the EU-Mercosur trade deal and a planned agricultural tax hike by the government.
“We are Polish farmers, we produce our own healthy Polish food and we want our children, our residents, our families to eat healthy Polish food, without chemicals and antibiotics,” Karina Strzelec of the farmers’ organisation told reporters.
Polish, as well as French, Spanish, and other European farmers, are deeply worried about an upcoming trade agreement between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc—consisting of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—which they believe will result in cheap, substandard food and agricultural products flooding the European markets. They fear that these products would not be subject to the same onerous EU standards and environmental regulations that European producers must follow.
There have been protests in France, and Spanish farmers have not ruled out taking to the streets, either.
“We do not want an influx of this food from South America. It does not meet standards. This food is not fit to eat,” Karina Strzelec said. The Polish farmers had blockaded the crossing at Medyka at the border of Ukraine, letting only one truck per hour pass into Ukraine and blocking trucks coming into Poland completely.
Farmers previously blockaded the Ukrainian border almost a year ago, protesting EU regulations and cheap Ukrainian grain imports. Though the Mercosur trade deal has nothing to do with Ukraine, one of the protest leaders, Roman Kondrów, said they wanted to exert pressure on the government.
The protest was suspended on Sunday after a visit by Agriculture Minister Czesław Siekierski, who said that his government would oppose the trade deal. “The farmers’ protest in Medyka has the same goal, for which I have been fighting on various fronts for a long time,” the minister said.
The farmers have threatened to block all border checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border starting December 10th if the government does not take action.
The Polish government has vowed not to accept the Mercosur deal in its current form, and earlier this month, the agriculture ministry warned that Polish and European producers could be “ousted from the EU market” if the pact is signed. France has also promised to reject the deal and is trying to rally a blocking minority to halt the agreement.
Under EU rules, at least four countries, representing at least 35% of the EU population, would be required to vote down the deal. France is trying to persuade Italy, Austria, Poland, and the Netherlands to form an alliance to make that happen.
