Poland pledges further solidarity with Ukraine as PMs meet in Warsaw

The prime ministers of Poland and Ukraine set the terms of Warsaw’s additional support for Kyiv and discussed solving the current dispute over food imports during intergovernmental consultations in Warsaw on Thursday.

In the first months of full-scale war in Ukraine, Kyiv found one of its main European allies in Warsaw, though relations soured after competition from Ukrainian agriculture and food products were introduced to the European market, particularly affecting farmers from neighbouring countries.

Despite disagreements on Ukrainian agri-food production disrupting the Polish market, support will remain unwavering, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told his counterpart Denys Shmyhal in Warsaw.

Tusk promised that this would not be limited to military, financial, and humanitarian aid but would also include diplomatic assistance and support for Ukraine’s prospects of joining NATO and the EU. “You could count on Poland in this regard, and you still can,” he told Shmyhal.

Solidarity with Ukraine is one of the few issues common to the previous conservative PiS (ECR) government, which lost power in December, and the new Tusk-led coalition, said Tusk.

“This is one of the greatest treasures of Polish politics, that no matter who is in power (…), no one and nothing will divide the Poles on this particular issue. We will remain together in this dramatic situation in our common history,” the prime minister added.

The meeting also touched on one of Poland’s crucial but thorny issues – imports of Ukrainian grain and other food products, which have been one of the leading causes of farmer protests in the country.

“The talks confirmed (…) that regardless of the sometimes difficult issues we have to solve, we can talk extremely frankly, without a hidden agenda,” the Polish prime minister insisted.

The EU’s decision to liberalise trade with Ukraine in 2022 led to an uncontrolled influx of food from Ukraine into Poland and other neighbouring countries, causing prices and demand for domestic production to fall.

Tusk confirmed that both Warsaw and Kyiv are investigating solutions to the problem, adding that Thursday’s consultations allowed both sides to take a step forward “so that the transit (of Ukrainian products) does not disrupt the Polish market anymore, which is also Ukraine’s intention.”

“Ukraine and Poland are strategic allies, and we are grateful (to Poland) for the support in the face of Russian aggression. We have joint values and a joint goal: a safe and secure Europe,” the Ukrainian prime minister added.

The minister added that Kyiv also expects Poland to actively participate in Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and play an important role during the June conference on this topic.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)

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