– The agreement signed in Jasionka between the Ministry of Agriculture and agricultural organizations will be the basis for talks with the government of Ukraine – said Michał Kołodziejczak, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Wednesday. He was a guest on the second day of the European Agricultural Forum, which takes place in Jasionka from Tuesday.
- One of the points of agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and farmers is that the Minister of Agriculture is to ask Prime Minister Donald Tusk to suspend the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine covered by the embargo through Polish territory.
- The parties also declared in the document that trade relations between the two countries must be regulated, including market access to products such as, among others, cereals, rapeseed, corn, sugar, poultry, eggs, soft fruits and apples.
When asked what he would like to say to the farmers who are protesting in many parts of the country on Wednesday in the context of the signed agreement, the deputy minister replied that “he is with them.”
We are working at full speed so that farmers do not have to protest. I work to introduce good solutions, to be a farmer’s man in the government, he added.
Kołodziejczak emphasized that, unlike previous governments, the police currently do not intervene and disperse farmers during protests.
The deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasized in the conversation that the aim of talks with the Ukrainian side must be to reach an understanding and build good neighborly relations.
My goal is to create an atmosphere that will make neighborly relations, no matter with whom, as good as possible, he said.
The deputy minister expressed hope that an agreement will be reached on March 28 this year, when a joint meeting of the governments of Poland and Ukraine will take place. Kołodziejczak admitted that talks with the Ukrainian side “are never easy.”
– But a settlement in the area I support, i.e. agriculture, must be concluded as soon as possible. I have the impression (…) that the Ukrainian side forgets that we are older brothers in democracy, but brothers. And here it is worth for Ukrainians to remember this, because in the future a lot will depend on our relations, he added.
In the deputy minister’s opinion, the most important point in the signed agreement is the obligation of the Minister of Agriculture to apply to the Prime Minister to suspend the transit through Poland of products from Ukraine covered by the embargo. – This is a far-reaching point and shows that today the Ministry of Agriculture and the government look together with farmers in the same direction. This is a very far step, said the deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
According to Kołodziejczak, the Ukrainian side must be aware that a decision such as suspending the transit of goods across the Polish border may be made.
