Polish farmers announced a new strike and blockade of the border with Ukraine

Polish farmers have announced a new nationwide strike. From February 9 to March 10, they plan to block all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine, as well as roads and highways throughout the country.

The initiator was the independent trade union of farmers "Solidarity".

"Our patience has run out. The position of Brussels on the last day of January 2024 is unacceptable for our entire agricultural community," the statement reads.

The farmers call their decision forced, because they are not satisfied with "the passivity of the Polish authorities, the declaration of cooperation with the European Commission and the declaration of compliance with all EC decisions regarding the import of agricultural products and foodstuffs from Ukraine."

• On January 31, the European Commission officially proposed to extend for a year, until mid-2025, the duty-free regime for exports from Ukraine. However, it is not as liberal as in the previous two years and takes into account the peculiarities of EU farmers. The new autonomous trade measures actually provide for the introduction of quotas for the most sensitive products — poultry, eggs and sugar. If the import of these products exceeds the average annual import volumes for 2022 and 2023, duties will be imposed on them. The proposal of the European Commission should be considered by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.