WARSAW, January 16. Polish authorities are discussing with Ukraine the introduction of licenses for the import of agricultural goods in order to respond to the concerns of Polish farmers who are afraid of an excessive influx of Ukrainian products into the country, reported on Tuesday radio station RMF24.
As the radio reports, “Polish authorities believe that it is possible to support Ukraine while protecting the interests of Polish farmers.” It is assumed that the licenses would limit the influx from Ukraine not only of grain, but also of vegetables, fruits, poultry, eggs and sugar. It is reported that, despite the inconsistency of this initiative with the norms of the EU free market, Brussels is ready to agree to Polish conditions, subject to the end of the conflict with Ukraine and the lifting of the embargo on the supply of agricultural products.
However, according to RMF24, Ukraine is in no hurry to agree to a compromise. Polish diplomats believe that Kiev is waiting for the European Commission's decision to extend free trade, as this will strengthen the country's negotiating position. Poland, if the embargo is extended, faces a lawsuit with the EC for non-compliance with European law.
Polish-Ukrainian relations have become significantly more complicated due to the embargo on Ukrainian grain. On September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of four types of Ukrainian agricultural products into several EU border countries, but obliged Kyiv to introduce export control measures. After this, the authorities of Slovakia, Hungary and Poland announced that they were extending the ban unilaterally. In this regard, Ukraine filed a complaint with the WTO. In response, three EU countries announced that they would boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain.