Ukraine and Poland held talks with the mediation of the European Commission: they discussed blocking the borders
Kyiv • UNN
The discussion between Ukraine and Poland on the border blockade was constructive, and both sides agreed to meet again in a week to continue negotiations.
Ukraine's Ambassador to the EU Vsevolod Chentsov told how the negotiations with Poland went with the mediation of the European Commission. He said that the discussion was constructive, and there is some progress. This was reported by Radio Liberty and reported by UNN.
The platform (negotiations between Ukraine and Poland mediated by the European Commission - ed.) did not function because the Polish side, in fact, took a break from participating in this instrument until yesterday. Yesterday they took part. There was a constructive discussion in principle. We agreed to hold the next meeting in just a week. That is, we are not interrupting this dialog.
Details
According to Vsevolod Chentsov, the Ukrainian side cited statistics showing that there are essentially no grounds for taking "such wild measures on the part of the protesters," and most of the problems they talk about are "far-fetched.
The Ambassador of Ukraine to the EU reminded the Poles of the instrument of controlling imports of Ukrainian products that works in Romania and Bulgaria and has proven to be effective.
"This is a system for controlling the import of our products to these countries. I'm not talking about transit now. And we have no problems or incidents of our companies violating this regime. The way they work is that they submit applications to the Ministry of Economy, and the Ministry of Agriculture processes them. If the other party has no reservations about issuing such licenses or supply permits, then it is allowed. We suggested that Poland and other countries simply use this tool, which has already proven its effectiveness. And the Commission, in fact, confirms the effectiveness of the tool," said Vsevolod Chentsov.
Context
Polish farmers are seeking an end to duty-free food imports from Ukraine, as well as the lifting of EU restrictions on the use of pesticides and fertilizers related to climate change.
Brussels has agreed to impose limits on imports of Ukrainian poultry, meat, and sugar starting in June in response to farmers' protests that also took place in a dozen other EU countries.
From the point of view of the Ukrainian government, Poland's latest demands are unreasonable, since Ukraine has complied with the previous agreement to verify that grain exports transit through Poland and do not fill its domestic market
Recall
Protests on the Ukraine-Poland border have intensified in recent weeks. Earlier this month, protesters stopped three Ukrainian grain trucks headed to Lithuania, spilling some of the cargo. Last week, farmers in Wroclaw threw eggs at a poster calling for solidarity with Ukraine.
Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky warned over the weekend that his government is considering imposing trade restrictions on Polish imports in response to the border disruption.
As of February 21, according to the State Border Guard Service, six border crossing points between Poland and Ukraine are being blocked, with about 2,500 trucks in line.
