Poland has not yet decided on construction of oil pipeline from Ukraine to Gdansk

This was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at the request of PAP, Ukrinform reports citing Wnp.pl.

"Doubts of a legal and technical nature, as well as the circumstances surrounding the flow of other agri-food products from Ukraine, have led to the fact that a decision on further work on the project has not yet been made," the statement said. 

The ministry noted that in 2023, the Polish and Ukrainian parties remained in working contact to discuss detailed legal issues and technical possibilities of building a pipeline for the transportation of vegetable oil from Ukraine. However, in light of the fact that "this type of investment has never been realized in Poland, and most likely in the world, there are many questions from both the Polish and Ukrainian sides."

A memorandum on the possible construction of a 600 km long oil pipeline to connect Yahodyn in Volyn Oblast and Gdansk was signed in 2022 during the Economic Forum in the Polish Karpacz by Mykola Solskyi, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, and his then-colleague Henryk Kowalczyk. 

Since September 15 last year, Poland has imposed an embargo on the import of grain, corn, rapeseed, sunflower, and their processed products from Ukraine to Poland. At the same time, Warsaw is negotiating with the European Commission and Kyiv to restrict exports of other agricultural products from Ukraine, including poultry and sugar, to Poland and the EU.

On February 9, Polish farmers began blocking several checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. According to the organizers of the strike from the independent farmers' union Solidarity, the blocking of roads near the checkpoints will last until March 10. On February 20, they plan to completely block all checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border.

The protesters claim that the "uncontrolled influx of goods from Ukraine after the opening of the EU border" is a problem for the profitability of agricultural production.

On February 11, near the Dorohusk border crossing, protesters broke customs seals on three trucks traveling from Ukraine, causing grain to partially spill onto the road. It is estimated that about a ton of grain spilled out of each truck.

The district prosecutor's office in Chełm began an investigation into the incident.

Poland's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czeslaw Sekerski apologized for the Ukrainian grain spilled by farmers on the border.

Photo: NurPhoto