Polish PM hopes to reach agreement with Ukraine on agricultural issues by 28 March

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Photo: Getty Images

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk hopes that Poland and Ukraine will reach an agreement on agricultural issues before the government meeting in Warsaw scheduled for 28 March.

Source: Ukrinform news agency, as reported by European Pravda

Details: “I hope that by 28 March, which is the day we are planning to meet with the Ukrainian government in Warsaw, we will have made joint decisions with Ukraine that will give Polish farmers a much better deal,” he said.

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The Prime Minister added that a solution involving the approval of licences and the government having to give consent to allow agricultural products from Ukraine to enter Poland would be found within two weeks.

“If necessary, we will also impose a moratorium on transit for a certain period of time. And I want it to coordinate this with the Ukrainian authorities; I don’t want to harm them,” Tusk said.

The Polish prime minister noted that most of the demands put forth by Polish farmers had been satisfied, including the retention of some arable land that was to be withdrawn under the EU’s Green Deal.

Background:

• The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a tentative agreement to extend trade liberalisation measures for Ukraine, which includes new restrictions and safeguards to address concerns raised by some EU countries.
• At the end of January, the European Commission officially proposed to extend the suspension of import quotas and duties for Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year, while also including safeguards for agricultural products, as requested by several EU countries.
• However, this proposal did not satisfy farmers in EU countries bordering Ukraine, prompting protests, particularly in Poland.

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