Poland, seeking to meet the needs of protesting farmers, plans to ask the European Union to put sanctions on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on March 4 during a visit to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
Like much of Europe, Poland has been gripped by protests in recent weeks as farmers demonstrate against the EU’s regulations to tackle climate change and unfair competition from Ukraine after the EU waived duties on Ukrainian food imports to help the country after Russia’s invasion.
He said joint EU decisions would be more effective than measures introduced by individual countries. Ms. Simonyte said Vilnius would support the initiative.
Last week, Mr. Tusk said market disruptions were also caused by agricultural products from Russia and Belarus and didn’t rule out introducing a ban.
Mr. Tusk explained his proposal by pointing out that the structures of agriculture and technology in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are completely different from those in Europe.
The production standards are lower, there are no climate restrictions there, and pesticides and fertilizers are incredibly cheap, he pointed out.
Meeting With Polish Farmers
The problems farmers face in Poland are “exceptionally severe,” he told reporters.
More than a year ago, Polish farmers could sell wheat they produced at about 300 euros ($326) per metric ton, but today Polish farmers can count on about 150 euros ($163) per metric ton, provided that they find a buyer, according to Mr. Tusk.
Production costs, such as the cost of artificial fertilizers, have increased over the past two or three years, and energy costs have doubled.
“And suddenly, the green deal and further restrictions are imposed on top of it,” he said.
The farmers’ representatives at the meeting had high hopes that Mr. Tusk would be able to negotiate a solution with the EU, but the Polish prime minister said it “is not an easy task.”
Supporting Ukraine
When speaking at a press conference after meeting with the farmers’ representatives on Feb. 29, Mr. Tusk expressed support for Ukraine in its war with Russia but said that this cannot be done at the expense of the Polish farmer. However, “the border crossings [to Ukraine] must be absolutely safe and open for military transports, military equipment, [and] humanitarian aid for Ukraine.”He said the EU’s climate regulations must be more flexible and shouldn’t force compliance under the threat of losing subsidies.
Mr. Tusk also said he supports the farmers’ demand for the EU to finance the purchase and transport of grain from European markets for other countries in need, noting that the grain surplus in Europe is nearly 30 million metric tons.
While Ukraine definitely deserves support, “the interests of several dozen large companies, the so-called Ukrainian agro-holdings, cannot be more important than the interests of Europe and our farmers,” he said.
“It has nothing to do with Ukraine’s security,” Mr. Tusk said.
More than a dozen giant companies are operating in Ukraine producing various foods, including grain, that aren’t owned by Ukrainians but by German, Dutch, or Middle Eastern capital, according to Mr. Piecuch. Apart from the physical labor provided by Ukrainians to these companies, the country gains little from exporting grains, as global food corporations earn “huge amounts of money from it.”
