Bulgarian farmers have blocked roads in the country — they are protesting against the import of Ukrainian grain
- Author:
- Liza Brovko
- Date:
In Bulgaria, farmers staged a protest over the lifting of the embargo on the import of Ukrainian grain. They blocked the main roads of the country.
Forbes Bulgaria writes about it.
On the main roads, agrarians set up large machinery (tractors, harvesters, etc.), blocking traffic. Their main demand is to restore the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine.
At the weekend, Prime Minister Mykola Denkov said that Bulgarian farmers "in recent days have started to behave like terrorists" because they "use false arguments, make demands that it be done immediately, if you donʼt do it, we will block the country."
Denkov also said that the protesters initially refused to negotiate with the Minister of Agriculture Kiril Vatev, and with him as well. The Prime Minister invited the farmers to a meeting for the second time.
- On September 14, the Bulgarian parliament canceled the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.
- On April 28, 2023, the European Commission reached an agreement with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. From May 2 to June 5, there was a ban on the free circulation of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds in these five countries. Then the agreement was extended until September 15. The embargo was introduced due to the fact that farmers from Poland and other countries went to protest actions. Agrarians complained that Ukrainian grain settles in countries, it is not exported further, due to which the purchase prices for grain fell sharply.
- Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia advocate banning the import of Ukrainian grain until the end of 2023. Bulgaria canceled the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.
- On September 15, the European Commission did not extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain. Poland has declared that it will extend it unilaterally. Subsequently, Hungary and Slovakia announced the same steps. Ukraine will sue Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia over the grain embargo.
- The European Commission reacted to the unilateral bans on importing Ukrainian grain from three countries and called on them to be constructive.