Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not rule out temporarily closing the border to trade with Ukraine on Wednesday as Poland is rocked by mass demonstrations by farmers blocking roads and border crossings to protest Ukrainian agricultural imports and European policies.

“We are also discussing with the Ukrainian side the temporary closure of the border and the suspension of the exchange of goods in general,” said Donald Tusk, admitting that it would be a “painful decision for both sides,” AFP, EFE and Agerpres reported.

“I am ready to make firm decisions regarding the border with Ukraine, always consulting with Kyiv so that there is no unnecessary tension. But we have to find a long-term solution,” explained Donald Tusk, adding that he had received proposals from Brussels and Kyiv regarding quotas for Ukrainian products, which are “unacceptable” for Warsaw.

Tusk also announced that on Thursday he will meet with representatives of Polish farmers, who are blocking roads and border points, protesting against the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, which the EU has exempted from duties and obligations to meet European standards. help Ukraine in the war with Russia – and thus they are sold on the European market at dumping prices, prices lower than the cost price of local producers.

At several border points with Ukraine and in the port of Gdansk, Polish farmers recently attacked trucks and wagons with Ukrainian grain and threw away their cargo, which provoked a violent reaction from Kyiv.

Poland’s prime minister said on Tuesday that he did not rule out the possibility of extending Poland’s unilateral ban on imports of some Ukrainian agricultural products if Brussels “does not find a more effective way to protect the Polish and European market”, after EU countries last week by a qualified majority of votes approved the request of the European Commission to extend until June 2025 the lifting of all restrictions on Ukrainian imports.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, which voted against the extension, unilaterally extended the ban on the import of four Ukrainian agricultural products in September 2023 after the European Commission rejected a request by Ukraine’s neighboring EU countries to extend the ban as a measure to protect farmers, who were taken into in April as part of an agreement with these three countries, as well as Romania and Bulgaria. The new pro-European Polish government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk has maintained these restrictions imposed by the former conservative government.

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