Polish farmers decided to block not only all checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border, but also some roads.
The independent trade union of Polish farmers «Solidarity» announced the start of a general strike. As written in the statement, “the reason is Brussels’ decision regarding the import of agricultural products from Ukraine and the passivity of the Polish government.”
The message from the agrarian «Solidarity» says that on Friday, February 9 at 10 o'clock, all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine will be blocked. There is no information yet for how long. It is also unknown which cars will be allowed through and which ones will not.. Most likely, trucks will block, while cars and buses will be allowed through.
In addition, temporary road blockages are to begin in some voivodeships. They will last from February 9 to March 10.
«Our patience has run out. The position of Brussels on the last day of January 2024 is unacceptable for our entire agricultural community,” reads a statement from NSZZ Rolników Indywidualnych Solidarność.
In this context, activists recalled the decision of the European Commission to extend the EU trade agreement with Ukraine until June 2025.
“The Polish government must have a clear plan for agricultural production, profitability of production, reconstruction of Polish processing and Polish trade,” the farmers note and say they will fight for this “to the end.”
Important for the start of the strike may be the fact that one of the leaders of the agrarian Solidarity is the former Minister of Agriculture in the PiS government, Robert Telus.