Farmers have been occupying the building of the Ministry of Agriculture since Tuesday, demanding the implementation of the agreements concluded on March 19 this year. in Jasionka. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture claims that the agreement adopted at that time has already been implemented to a significant extent. Who’s right?
Farmers who went on strike at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are still there, said Małgorzata Książek, spokeswoman for the ministry, on Wednesday. She added that no official talks are currently underway with them. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development talked to protesters on Tuesday.
Is the agreement in Jasionka (im)implemented?
The talks concerned the implementation of the arrangements concluded on March 19 this year. in Jasionka. Farmers claim that the demands made then have not been implemented despite the passage of time. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture claims that, on the contrary, the agreement adopted at that time has already been implemented to a significant extent. And lists:
- Matters related to the Green Deal – after farmers’ protests and interventions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as arrangements between Prime Minister Tusk and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission withdrew from many assumptions of the Green Deal. They should be accepted as satisfactory by the protesting farmers.
- The rules for launching aid for cereal producers were adopted (cereal subsidies of PLN 200/t and PLN 300/t). The approval process is ongoing.
- The embargo on imports of cereals, corn, rapeseed, sunflower, flour, bran, meal and cake from Ukraine is still maintained.
- Work is underway to maintain the agricultural tax level at the 2023 level.
- Due to the fact that the Ukrainian side announced that it would limit the transit of its agricultural products through Poland to a minimum from April to June this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development did not apply to suspend the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through Poland.
But he also adds in the statement: “a number of activities require many inter-ministerial arrangements and specific procedures, which extends the implementation of the arrangements.”
Who is right in this dispute?
So let’s take a look at what the gray reality looks like, stripped of the above propaganda of success….
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First of all, we do not agree with the thesis that Prime Minister Donald Tusk “arranged” something for farmers with the President of the European Commission.
The changes described by the Ministry of Agriculture have been sought for a long time by none other than the EU Commissioner for Agriculture – Janusz Wojciechowski.
Secondly, changes to the conditionality rules that result from the legal conditions of the European Green Deal must be voted on by MEPs. The European Parliament will hold its last session of this term in the second half of April. Only after these votes will it be possible to talk about possible changes in the Common Agricultural Policy, which will concern the mentioned conditionality of agricultural production, i.e. GAEC 6, 7 and 8.
But that’s not all. Farmers must not forget that various legal acts specifically affecting them are adopted not only by DG AGRI, but also by other departments of the European Commission, e.g. trade, climate or health. Nobody knows whether any new and burdensome rules will be introduced into the lives of so-called farmers. back door. Let us not forget that a proposal has been made that if new regulations in the field of other policies: environmental or climate policies appear, member states are obliged to revise their Strategic Plans and take these regulations into account. Farmers expect changes in this area. They believe that by the end of 2027, the possibility of burdening them with further tasks falling outside the scope of the Common Agricultural Policy should be excluded. This issue is still under discussion: whether it should be 2027 or 2025.
Can we therefore say that the changes in the Common Agricultural Policy that farmers expect have already taken place? Definitely not. They are in progress. Why is the Ministry of Agriculture currently reporting that the European Commission has withdrawn from many of the assumptions of the Green Deal?
Let us emphasize this again, the case is ongoing!
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The bone of contention is the rules for granting aid to cereal producers.
These are subsidies of PLN 200 and PLN 300 per tonne. For now, there is no official government draft regulation on this matter. From Tuesday’s (!) statement by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Michał Kołodziejczak, we only know that: “The Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a regulation on subsidies for the sale of grain; it is being consulted with farmers.”
Moreover, the basic issue of granting them has not been clarified: are they to be paid per tonne of cereals or per hectare? The difference is fundamental and comes down to whether it will be a subsidy for Polish grain (if up to 1 ha) or for Ukrainian grain (if up to a tonne). Currently, nothing is known about this matter, apart from the laconic statement of the Ministry of Agriculture that “the rules have been adopted”.
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Approx. But what’s next? What is the plan for the situation that awaits us in June this year?
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The draft law on maintaining the amount of agricultural tax for 2024 at the level of 2023 is still only a draft in the list of legislative and program works of the Council of Ministers. At Tuesday’s government meeting (April 2), i.e. on the day when farmers reminded Minister Siekierski about the agreement signed in Jasionka, it was not adopted.
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Ukraine “announced” it, so the Polish government is waiting patiently. And that he promised something to farmers earlier? Whatever….
It is hard not to get the impression that the current situation regarding “solving” agricultural issues is a classic political game for time. A reconstruction of Prime Minister Tusk’s government is on the horizon: according to unofficial information, among others, the following people are to lose their position: Minister Siekierski. But just a moment, the current coalition must hold out until the elections: first of all the local government elections, and then the European Parliament elections…
Radosław Iwański, Agnieszka Kozłowska
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