Bulgarian Prime Minister compares farmers outraged by lifting of grain ban from Ukraine to "terrorists"
Nikolai Denkov, Bulgarian Prime Minister, sharply responded on Saturday, 16 September to the refusal of farmers, who are planning large-scale protests after the lifting of the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine, to meet with him.
Source: Bulgarian BNR web portal; European Pravda
Details: The Prime Minister of Bulgaria emphasised that the farmers' claims about the alleged lack of support from the state are "absolutely untenable."
Quote: "Representatives of the sector... cannot disregard European demands given that the tractors they want to block the roads with are bought with European funds; they cannot say they have no interest in Europe's affairs when most of the funds they receive in subsidies and aid are European," he said.
Denkov advised grain producers to refuse European funds and then ban Ukrainian goods. "I do not negotiate with terrorists," said the Bulgarian Prime Minister when the farmers refused to meet with him.
The words of the government official were condemned by the Bulgarian Union of Farmers, which claimed that the authorities had refused to meet with them for the last 100 days, and emphasised that their protests are the exercising of the constitutional right of every citizen.
Background:
- On Monday, Bulgarian farmers are planning a blockade across the country, including border crossings, due to the authorities' decision not to extend the ban on the import of agricultural goods from Ukraine.
- On Friday, the European Commission announced it would not extend restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine after 15 September, but Kyiv agreed to take measures to limit imports from its side.
- Despite this, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia decided to introduce unilateral restrictions. Moreover, Warsaw announced that their restrictions will apply indefinitely. At the same time, the Romanian government agreed to the European Commission's compromise regarding the import of Ukrainian grain.
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