Around thirty people began this Saturday, November 23, to block the entry of trucks from Ukraine at the Medyka border crossing, to protest against the policy of their government and against the proposed trade agreement between the EU and the countries of Mercosur.
The farmers' protest movement is gaining momentum in Europe. In the wake of their French or British counterparts, already mobilized since the beginning of the week, Polish farmers began this Saturday, November 23, the blockade of an important border post with Ukraine, in Medyka, in the south-east of the country. They denounce the policy of their government and the proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and the countries of South America brought together within Mercosur – a project in negotiations for twenty-five years, which the European Commission hopes to see it come to fruition soon.
At the Medyka border crossing, around thirty demonstrators have been preventing truck traffic entering Poland since Saturday morning. In the other direction, only one truck per hour is allowed to leave Poland for Ukraine. The blockage does not apply to cars, buses, humanitarian and military transport. The mobilization could continue until the end of 2024. “For the moment we do not want to expand our protest” beyond that, said Roman Kondrow, one of the movement leaders present on site, who hopes that a member of the Polish government will come to meet the demonstrators during the weekend.
“This agreement will destroy European agriculture”
The protesters criticize the government in particular for not keeping its promises on taxes for farmers. “As a sign of solidarity with Western farmers, we also oppose the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries.», adds Roman Kondrow. According to him, “this agreement will destroy European agriculture”. “They don’t respect the same standards as us”he says in reference to the Mercosur countries – a situation which, he asserts, also applies to imports of Ukrainian agricultural products.
This mobilization comes exactly one year after the first border blockages 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.
