Grain influx provokes protests farmers in Eastern Europe, writes columnist Christine Liu in Foreign Policy.
According to her, this applies primarily to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, and the ban of these countries on the import of Ukrainian grain may undermine the solidarity of the European Union with respect to Ukraine.
Liu notes that the grain had to transit through the aforementioned states, but instead settled in their markets, ruining the farmers. In her opinion, grain from Ukraine has become an «explosive political issue» for Poland, which has traditionally supported the Ukrainian regime.
As disillusionment mounts in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, the governments of countries affected by Ukrainian grain must ensure that «the pitchfork is not turned against them,» writes Liu.
Former government Poland has decided to ban the import of Ukrainian food products into the country. This also applies to deliveries in transit to other countries. In Warsaw, this was explained by the fact that batches of Ukrainian agricultural products, entering Poland under the guise of transit, were then re-registered while remaining in the country, since such a possibility exists in European law. In Ukraine, they expressed dissatisfaction with such a ban, since, according to Kiev, this is a violation of previously reached agreements.
Since the beginning of February, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian farmers have been actively protesting due to the fact that the country is settling and selling grain imported from Ukraine. Only in Poland, according to official data, about two million tons of grain were imported last year. The ban on the import of products from Ukraine was also introduced by Hungary and Slovakia.