Polish farmers' protest. Who and what is behind it
Why do the Polish government now have to clarify things to everyone, and when will they finally "relax"?
Today, on February 16, Polish farmers have blocked once again the Korczowa-Krakowiec cross border point. This is the sixth check-point that has been "immobilised" in such a way in a week. The confrontation at the border is only escalating, and all attempts to end it at the formal level have failed so far. Social tension is also rising, as information about blocked cars and scattered Ukrainian grain on the road does not help understanding and unity. However, the Ukrainian media occasionally wonder how it happened that Poland, which has been Ukraine's major ally and supporter since the first days of the war, suddenly turns into one of its fiercest opponents when it comes to Ukraine's foreign trade.
Roman Matys, President of the International Investment Office, public figure, described the protest of Polish farmers from the point of view of a person who is closely involved in Polish business activities, studies the experience of Polish economic development, and is familiar with many key Polish economic players.
The English translation was prepared by Mind's partner – Bureau translations: MK:Translation.
So, what happens to the farmers' protest in Poland? On February 9, farmers protested in more than 260 Polish localities. Let me be clear: over TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY LOCATIONS in Poland are being affected by the protest of farmers who are blocking traffic in villages, towns, cities and even the capital to call for attention to their demands. Among these locations are several cross border points with Ukraine. Not all border cross points, but only two of them at that moment. At the border cross points, traffic was blocked only for Ukrainian trucks.
So what are Polish farmers standing for? At the very beginning of the strike, Polish farmers had the same key demands as other protestors in other EU countries. After all, farmers are protesting not only in Poland, but also in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and even in Brussels, in front of the European Parliament.
The protesters were united to stop the implementation of the so-called Green Deal, the European Commission's package of policy initiatives to lead the European Union to environmental transformation with the ultimate goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. These initiatives lead to the implementation of new biological products, diverse genetic systems, precision agriculture, and new methods of plant breeding, which, according to the protesters, will lead to increased production costs and make farming completely unprofitable.
Polish protesters are also concerned about the fact that, as a result of the continued duty-free import of agricultural products from Ukraine, the Polish market nearest to us is now supplied with products grown with cheap pesticides or other methods of growth stimulation, care, etc. that have been banned in the EU for a long time. From the farmers' point of view, Ukrainian products enter the Polish market without appropriate control, being cheaper and causing unfair competition. Moreover, Polish farmers are against restrictions on animal trade in the Polish market. The final two points make this protest different from similar actions by European colleagues.
Read more: European farmers' protests: how badly did Ukraine provoke them and what farmers really want?
Who stands by them? At the very beginning, nobody supported the farmers' protest. Most Polish were angry with them as their continued road blocking actions across the country had hampered traffic and caused many problems with the routine logistics of going to work, school, hospital, etc. It was clear from the articles in the specialized farmer pl magazine that most residents did not really understand the protest. Both journalists and protesters complain about it, because farmers truly believe that their demands concern not only business but also every consumer who buys food in the shop, but consumers do not hear or understand them.
Czesław Siekierski, Minister of Agriculture of Poland, has supported the protesters and is negotiating with the European Commission to ensure that some of the EC's environmental requirements are "not always reasonable". Significantly, he had met with the protesters before the protest act, and they agreed ways to conduct the protest with as little discomfort as possible for citizens.
The minister asked the protesters to state their demands clearly and plainly, so that everyone could understand them. In addition, the farmers were demanding financial support before the start of the sowing season, which had already been discussed with the Ministry of Finance at the beginning of the strike.
Who could really stand behind the protests? Czesław Siekerski made enormous efforts to ensure that the Ukraine issue was hardly mentioned in the protest, while assuring the protesters that trade issues with Ukraine would be resolved Such an approach meant that the situation had a chance to stay internal.
However, moscow and its local Polish agents had quite different plans. At the location of the farmers' protest at one of the two blocked border cross points to Ukraine, a group of people appeared, stepping up to the trucks with grain, opening the inspection flaps and pouring the grain onto the asphalt. Rafał Mekler, a member of the anti-Ukrainian political movement and a notorious cargo trafficker to Russia and Belarus, was the very first to report it.
Even though such a dubious information source, this provocation is being followed in Ukraine by everyone from opinion leaders to politicians of various ranks and types.
Everyone wants to make a big show of such delicate issues as "ungrateful attitude to bread", "disrespect for Ukrainian farmers who harvest this grain in such difficult circumstances", etc. The subject is quickly turning into a top one in the Ukrainian media, social media and telegram channels. But unfortunately, none of those who promoted it ever thought for a second that every post on this topic would deepen the Ukrainian antipathy towards all those Polish people who don't even understand the idea of their farmers' protest.
What is the purpose of all this? Thus, the Kremlin's agents succeed to level all the efforts of the Polish government to make the farmers' protest an internal Polish problem. Most Ukrainians ignore any arguments, accusing all Polish people of hatred towards Ukrainians and the Polish government of neglect, although it is not true.
In reply to these accusations, the Polish media field is responding with symmetrical severity to the reactions of ordinary citizens and farmers, who, forgetting about the agreements with the government, are now declaring their intention to block not only the border cross points, but also all transport routes that deliver goods from Ukraine.
And what is the Polish government doing now? The Polish government is making every effort to resolve the situation. After all, they are also interested in this, as Polish politicians are facing local government elections in early April and European Parliament elections in early June this year. For that reason, resolution of the farmers' situation is important for both Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Minister Czesław Siekerski, who leads the coalition and represents a political force focusing on the farmers' votes.
So the Minister of Agriculture addressed both audiences. To the one that criticises the rise of anti-Ukrainian tensions, he apologised for the aggressive actions of the farmers, asking them to understand their difficult situation. Meanwhile, he announced that Poland was in the course of negotiating a bilateral agreement with Ukraine on agricultural products and hoped that by the end of March it would be achieved a detailed list of goods that could enter the Polish market without any restrictions.
Read more: Poland intends to control agricultural products from Ukraine. What should exporters prepare for?
This position is synchronised with the farmers' position, who were initially demanding a transition period during which Ukrainian products would be imported in a regulated way and Polish farmers would have time to get ready to compete with Ukrainian agricultural products. According to the Minister, he is also discussing this situation with the European Parliament. In response to the farmers' demand to stop the implementation of the Green Deal, he offered to discuss with the European Commission the matter of changing the clauses in the agreement that were not acceptable to farmers. He also reminded farmers that subsidy payments (additional funding for corn production, drought relief, fuel surcharges, etc.) would start in March.
So, what should we expect next? Everything depends on the satisfaction of the protesters with the proposed decisions. But one thing is clear: the government is ready and will negotiate with farmers. The Ukrainian issue will be neutralised in the light of these protests and put into the most pragmatic way possible.
The course of events around the border blockade depends on the government's legal reasons for the provocateurs. The previous protest of the carriers, started by the same anti-Ukrainian "activists", was stopped by the Polish government. Rather than initiate a new protest, they preferred to join the farmers' protest and act on their behalf. Criminal proceedings for damage to Ukrainian grain are open.
Sooner or later, we would know what the police finds out. However, the local elections are still important for the anti-Ukrainian "Confederation", so we will be able to witness the activity of their representatives at least until the beginning of April. It should get easier.
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