WARSAW: Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk on Tuesday said his government is mulling on widening a ban on imports of Ukrainian grains to other food products if the European Union fails to protect the regional markets.
He made the remarks during a visit to Prague as thousands of Polish farmers took to the streets of Warsaw, demanding ban on food imports from Ukraine and EU green rules.
Farmers across Europe have been protesting against restrictions placed on them by the EU’s “Green Deal” regulations aimed to tackle climate change, as well as increasing costs and what they say is unfair competition from outside the EU, especially Ukraine.
The EU in 2022 removed duties on Ukrainian food imports after Russia’s was on Ukraine.
Tusk went on to say that it will be necessary to broaden the embargo to more Ukrainian products if the European Union does not find more effective ways to protect the European and Polish markets.
Agriculture Minister of Poland Czeslaw Siekierski said that further discussions with Ukraine were planned for Wednesday and other options were being considered.
Polish farmers invited for talks
He went on to say that Polish farmers were also invited for talks to the agriculture ministry on Thursday.
Organizer of Polish protest Szczepan Wojcik said the invitation for discussions was welcome, but cautioned of more protests if no progress was made in next few days.
He added that further protests in Warsaw have already been planned for March 6. Farmers are already gathering on the roads, and border crossings will continue to be blocked.
Earlier, Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk said the EU had to solve the problems created by its decision to open its borders to Ukrainian food imports.
