Poland will not open its border for Ukrainian grain - Morawiecki

The Polish government will unilaterally decide to blockade Ukrainian grain starting September 15 if the European Commission (EC) does not extend the ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to five EU countries (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria).

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus, and Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller announced this on Tuesday morning, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Poland will not be flooded with Ukrainian grain. Regardless of the decision of Brussels officials, Poland will not open its borders, Morawiecki wrote on the social network X.

He attached to his post a video by the ruling Law and Justice party, in which the head of the Polish government emphasizes that Poland has accepted millions of refugees from Ukraine. At the same time, when it comes to protecting Poland's interests, the government will defend the interests of the Polish countryside. In the video, Morawiecki emphasized that it was Poland's "firm position" that led to the fact that imports of Ukrainian grain to the common European market were delayed. He noted that while Brussels is deciding whether to maintain the embargo on Ukrainian grain, Poland will not allow the Polish market to be dominated by Ukrainian agricultural products.

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Minister Telus said on Polish Radio that his ministry recommends that the Polish government adopt a decree confirming that Ukrainian grain will not enter the Polish market after September 15. He also assured that Warsaw supports the transit of Ukrainian grain through the territory of Poland to get it to the markets of third countries, in particular to Africa.

In turn, Polish government spokesman Piotr Müller told Polsat News that on Tuesday the government will adopt a decree calling on the EC to extend the ban on imports of grain from Ukraine to five EU countries. The document will contain a warning: if this does not happen, Warsaw will make a corresponding decision at the national level based on the security clause.

As reported, in May 2023, the EC banned imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries. On June 5, the ban was extended until September 15, 2023. These countries want to extend the import ban until the end of the year and expand it to some other products.

The Ukrainian authorities insist that if the EC extends the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after September 15, Ukraine may consider mirror measures.