Polish agriculture minister: ‘Farmers protests pushed the EU to softer stances’

The awaited proposal of the Commission on prolonging food trade benefits for Ukraine, will include some Warsaw demands as farmer protests pushed the EU to take a softer stance, Polish Agriculture Minister Czesław Siekierski told Euractiv.

The European Commission is expected to propose the renewal of the “Autonomous Trade Measures” (such as the suspension of import duties, quotas and trade defence measures) in support of Ukrainian exports to the European Union, which is one of the main drivers of farmers’ protests, particularly in Poland and Romania.

“Farmers protests pushed the EU to softer stances”, as “we explained to the Commission” that “those protests are stemming from the over-imports from Ukraine of those goods that are really vulnerable in our market”, Siekierski added in the margins of the first meeting of agricultural ministers of the Belgian EU presidency, on 23 January. 

During the meeting, the Polish delegation presented a note with solutions to prevent excessive agricultural imports from Ukraine and the negative impact on the agricultural sector, particularly the borderline member states. 

The EU temporarily lifted restrictions on imports from Ukraine in June 2022 following Russia’s invasion of the country. But the influx of Ukrainian foods and goods into the EU market pushed prices down in frontline countries – namely Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.

After a temporary suspension, the Commission resumed the trade benefits, establishing a system of checks and controls on the Ukrainian side to help prevent market distortion. But protests resumed.

“The document describing” the new measures “has not been released yet”, Siekierski said. But “But during our conversations with the Commission, it seems that they sort of like blinking an eye to the proposal” of allowing one Member State to take the initiative “when imposing stricter measures, or safeguard clauses”. 

Gene editing and pesticides

Poland is one of the member states whose stance is key to unlocking the stalemate on two pending legislative dossiers, the rules on gene-edited plants and the sustainable use of pesticides regulation. 

On the first matter, Sekierski explains that “we don’t want to allow the patenting of the NGT 1 plants”. According to the Commission proposal, that category of products should be regulated as conventional breeding products.

“We’re afraid that patenting further limit the availability of seeds and access to those, especially for the smaller scale farmers” the Polish minister told. “We support innovation, but it can’t be overtaken by corporations”, and although “we’re aware that corporations” invest “money into” the new varieties “, we think that they also are obliged to respect the people and serve the people.”

Siekierski is still sceptical about pesticide regulation. “We are not against” the reduction of pesticides, “but simply we don’t want the farmers to bear the cost of the transition, we need to find ways to compensate them”.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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