Polish official aims to close country's agricultural market for Ukraine for 20 years after its EU accession

Michał Kołodziejczak, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Poland, who now holds a seat in the Polish Sejm as part of the list of the Civil Coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, has said that the Polish agricultural market should be closed to Ukraine for 20 years after its accession to the EU.

Source: Kołodziejczak in an interview with RMF FM, European Pravda reports

Details: According to the official, who promises that next week Prime Minister Tusk will officially approve him as deputy minister of agriculture, Poland must protect its interests in connection with Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

Kołodziejczak said Ukrainian agriculture is dominated by 95 farms, adding that these are holdings that hold half of the agricultural land in Ukraine.

Quote: "Therefore, we need to protect our interests, for example, as Germany did when Poland joined the EU – at that time, the labour market for Poles was frozen for 8 years. Today we need to say that agricultural products from Ukraine, raw and processed, should not enter Poland, for example, for 20 years after Ukraine's accession to the EU," Kołodziejczak said.

The official led protests against the import of Ukrainian grain, led by the Agrounia movement. Having already been elected to the Polish Sejm, he supported the protests on the border with Ukraine and is often seen in Medyka, where farmers from the Deceived Village Association are protesting.

According to Kołodziejczak, the lack of regulation between Poland and Ukraine "leads to drama in the Polish countryside". He also stated that the previous authorities from the PiS party allowed "illegal and uncontrolled imports" of grain from Ukraine.

Earlier it was reported that the Lublin District Court had allowed Polish hauliers to resume the protest at the Dorohusk checkpoint from 18 December, which had previously been blocked by the head of the municipality.

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