European Union countries differ in their approach to the issue of importing grain from Ukraine. Spain, Italy or Portugal will not support restrictions. Poland needs bilateral solutions.
- The European Green Deal and the threat of uncontrolled exports of goods from Ukraine are a double driver of agricultural protests in the European Union.
- For Ukraine, in the process of European integration, access to the common market in the area of agriculture will be more important than direct subsidies.
- We are talking to Monika Piątkowska, president of the Grain and Feed Chamber, who took part in the debate “Poland, Ukraine, Europe” organized at the EEC Trends conference – the prologue of the European Economic Congress, which will be held on May 7-9 in Katowice.
Farmer protests in Europe focus on two issues. On the one hand, it is a matter of the European Green Deal. The agricultural industry fears that the European Union’s climate policy is too ambitious, taking into account economic and post-pandemic realities.
On the other hand, we are dealing with growing frustration among farmers in our part of Europe, which results from concerns about the competitiveness of their production in the face of the inflow of cheap food from Ukraine.
– The implementation of the European Green Deal, which has always been ambitious, cannot take place without harming the competitiveness of European and Polish agriculture. In this context, I will sarcastically say that these protests throughout the EU are helping us because they show the Community that this is a broader problem, not only in Poland – says Monika Piątkowska, president of the Grain and Feed Chamber.
The European Union’s trade agreement with Ukraine destroys the internal solidarity of the Community. An importer will not understand an exporter
On the one hand, Portugal, Spain and Italy are countries that traditionally import grain. Additional batches of grain from Ukraine are not a major problem for them.
On the other hand, there is Poland, which exports agricultural produce – including: 10 million tons of grain surplus. Any unregulated inflow of wheat, rye or corn constitutes a problem for domestic agricultural production.
The extension of the trade agreement with Ukraine is dangerous for Poland, in particular in terms of maintaining free grain trade with our eastern neighbor. In its latest proposals for a trade agreement with Ukraine (the so-called autonomous trade measures – ATM), the European Commission did not abolish free grain trade with this country.
At the same time, as Monika Piątkowska reminds, the Polish government (of the previous term) announced an embargo on Ukrainian grain in a manner inconsistent with EU regulations. Let us recall that trade policy is the exclusive competence of the European Union.
The embargo, although inconsistent with European Union regulations, is a certain block to the uncontrolled inflow of grain from Ukraine to Poland.
– It will be difficult to reach a compromise regarding the free flow of Ukrainian grain to the EU market, but Poland has the opportunity to enter into dialogue at the bilateral level. During his visit to Kiev, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced an attempt to enter into dialogue with Ukraine and develop a common position on defining certain limits – emphasizes Monika Piątkowska.
It is worth noting that these limits apply to transit, because Poland, as a large exporter, does not need grain from Ukraine for its own needs.
Ukraine’s future in the European Union will require the preparation and adoption of appropriate agricultural rules
Ukraine, due to its large food production capabilities and large agricultural market, which consists of large-scale agricultural holdings, will have to go through protection periods – like Poland – on the way to full accession.
– It is worth noting that Ukraine will have different expectations than Poland related to accession to the European Union in the agricultural dimension. In the case of our country, the main mechanism that farmers from the Vistula region counted on were direct structural subsidies. In the case of Ukrainian agriculture, the main advantage that accession to the European Union will create will be full access both to the EU market and globally to all countries with which the Community has signed free trade agreements – sums up the president of the Grain and Feed Chamber.
