Blockade of Polish-Ukrainian border: EU announces meeting of Coordination Platform

Monday, 19 February 2024

The European Commission has announced a meeting of the Coordination Platform for the Export and Transit of Ukrainian Agricultural Products amid the blockade of the border with Ukraine by Polish farmers.

The EC representative was asked about the protests of Polish farmers who blocked the border with Ukraine, which resulted in thousands of trucks being stuck in queues.

"Contacts continue between the Commission and all the affected member states. In our view, the most effective form in which to address these complex, challenging questions and arrive at lasting medium- to long-term solutions is within the forum of joint Coordination Platform, which meets tomorrow," Olof Gill, European Commission spokesman, announced at a briefing.

Gill also added that peaceful demonstrations are a basic right in the EU, but the European Commission has repeatedly stated that "there is no place for violence and national authorities are competent for law enforcement matters".

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"It is very important that national authorities safeguard passenger and goods transport, which is essential for the good functioning of our supply chains and the EU internal market," he said.

Currently, Polish farmers are blocking six checkpoints on the border with Ukraine.

Earlier, the State Border Guard Service suggested that the blockade of checkpoints by Polish farmers may delay the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Before that, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal had a telephone conversation with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk to discuss the situation at the border, where Polish farmers had staged a blockade of Ukrainian lorries.

Czesław Siekierski, Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that negotiations with Ukraine on the terms of exports of certain agricultural products were in their final stages.

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