Polish agricultures jam border with Ukraine
Date
11/25/2024 7:32:29 AM
(MENAFN) A group of Polish farmers shut down the country’s largest border crossing with Ukraine on Saturday in protest against Agriculture tax increases and the EU’s free trade agreement with the South American Mercosur bloc. The farmers, wearing yellow vests and waving Polish flags, walked back and forth across a pedestrian crossing near the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint, halting traffic. Around 30 people participated in the protest. The farmers had planned this demonstration from October through the end of the year, despite opposition from the Medyka mayor, who was overruled by a Polish court that deemed the ban on protests illegal.
The protest only targeted truck traffic, allowing passenger cars, buses, and vehicles transporting military or humanitarian aid to pass. Ukrainian authorities stated that no vehicles over 3.5 tons could enter Poland, and one truck would be allowed to cross from Poland to Ukraine per hour. The blockade is expected to last at least 48 hours, with the possibility of an extension. The protest has caused a backlog of approximately 150 trucks on the Polish side of the border.
Farmers accuse the Polish government of breaking a promise to maintain agriculture tax rates at the 2023 level, criticizing Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s cabinet for other policies detrimental to the agricultural sector. They are using the border blockade as leverage, as they believe the government has ignored their demands. The protests have angered Ukrainian authorities, who noted that the farmers’ grievances are related to Polish internal politics, not Ukrainian goods. Ukrainian officials have expressed concern that the protests are being influenced by Russian interests, though Moscow has not commented on the situation. Similar protests by Polish farmers have occurred in the past, particularly in response to what they see as unfair agricultural imports from Ukraine.
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