Polish farmers will block the border with Ukraine again on February 9

Polish farmers have announced strikes and blocking of at least one checkpoint on the border with Ukraine starting at 11:00 a.m. on February 9. This is the Dorohusk-Yagotyn checkpoint. Information on other checkpoints is being clarified. This was reported by the State Customs Service.

“Currently, Polish customs officers have informed that the blocking of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint is to begin at 11:00 am Kyiv time on February 9 with the use of agricultural machinery. The protest action was agreed by the local authorities until March 9, 2024,” the customs officers said.

They also added that the protesters intend to allow all buses and 1 truck in both directions to pass through the border within an hour. Humanitarian aid and fuel tanks will also be allowed to enter Ukraine unimpeded.

As for the other checkpoints on the border with Poland, information is being clarified, and meetings with representatives of the Polish customs administration are planned.

“After receiving official confirmation of the blocking of the Polish-Ukrainian border, we will additionally inform about the situation at the checkpoints,” the State Customs Service said.

The strike by Polish carriers began on November 6. Freight traffic was blocked in the direction of the Yagodyn-Dorokhusk, Krakivets-Korchova, and Rava-Ruska-Krebenne checkpoints. Among the main demands was a return to the system of issuing permits for Ukrainian carriers to work in the European Union.

On December 18, Polish carriers resumed their protests at the largest checkpoint, Yahodyn-Dorohusk, on the Ukrainian-Polish border. They were joined by farmers. The action is expected to last for several months. Meanwhile, since November 6, Polish entrepreneurs have been protesting in front of the Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska and Krakivets-Korczowa border crossings.

On January 15, it became known that the ministers of agriculture of Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary sent a letter to the European Commission asking it to impose an import duty on Ukrainian grain.

In a letter to the European Commissioner for Trade, Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Sekerski said he was “categorically against” the expansion of free trade between the EU and Ukraine. He emphasized that the problems with excessive imports concern not only grains, but “also sugar, poultry, eggs, soft fruits (especially frozen raspberries) and apple concentrate.” And an open letter from European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EC Vice President for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis warns of the risk of a new crisis that could be triggered by “excessive agricultural imports” from Ukraine to the EU.
During his visit to Ukraine, the new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk assured that Ukraine and Poland would find a way out that would be beneficial for both countries’ agricultural producers.

Tags: Poland, protests