Polish farmers began blocking a major border crossing with Ukraine on Saturday to protest against government policy and denounce the European Union's agreement with Mercosur countries. At the Medyka border crossing (south-east), around thirty protesters are preventing truck traffic entering Poland. One truck per hour is allowed to leave Poland for Ukraine. The blockage does not apply to cars, buses, humanitarian and military transport.
The protesters criticize the government in particular for not keeping its promises on taxes for farmers. “We have authorization to protest until the end of the year, but we are waiting for the minister to come and discuss with us tomorrow. For the moment we do not want to expand our protest”Roman Kondrow, who heads the organization, told AFP “The duped campaign”present on site.
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Opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement
“As a sign of solidarity with Western farmers, we also oppose the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries”he added. According to him, “this agreement will destroy European agriculture”. “They don’t respect the same standards as us”he said adding that “the same situation concerns imports of Ukrainian agricultural products”.
The blockade comes exactly one year after the first border blockades by Polish farmers protesting against the arrival of Ukrainian foodstuffs in their country. These imports were liberalized in 2022 by Brussels, which led to disruptions in the agricultural and food market in Poland and other countries in the region.
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