Border blocked again: Poles resume rally at the checkpoint with Ukraine

The Poles have resumed the border blockade with Ukraine at the Dovhobychuv-Uhryniv checkpoint. However, they are expected to rally only on May 10. The protest is part of another large-scale action of Polish farmers demanding to cancel the European "green course" requirements and ban imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.

The State Customs Service announced the blocking of the border. It noted that the announced time of the rally is from 09.00 to 16.00.

"According to the Polish side, today, May 10, from 09:00 to 16:00, a one-day strike will be held in front of the Dolhobyczów-Uhryniv checkpoint in the cargo areas: entry and exit from Ukraine," the statement said.

It is emphasized that the protesters do not plan to touch the cars, as they must move freely. As well as buses.

Poles protest not only on the border of Ukraine

On May 10, mass protests took place in the Polish capital Warsaw. Farmers plan to continue the rallies until late in the evening.

According to Radio Svoboda, the protesting farmers claim that the consequences of the "green course" will lead to higher electricity and heating prices. They also oppose the upcoming ban on gasoline and diesel cars.

In addition to rejecting the Green Deal, the strikers are demanding a ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine. In their opinion, Ukrainian products are allegedly not controlled and do not have certificates, although this is not true.

The border has been unblocked since the end of April

Polish farmers fully unblocked all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine on April 29, when the blockade of the Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne checkpoint was lifted. At the same time, the parties agreed to exchange monthly figures on the transit of agricultural products to monitor the situation.

At the same time, the complete de-blockade of the border already yielded positive results. For example:

• in the second decade of April, when the border crossing points were blocked, the average volume of transportation was 13 thousand tons per day;
• On April 28-29, this figure was higher – 16 thousand tons.

Poland receives much more from Ukraine than it gives

Danylo Hetmantsev ("Servant of the People"), Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, noted earlier that by blocking the border, the Poles are "shooting themselves in the foot" – after all, in 2023 Poland exported $12.3 billion worth of goods to Ukraine and imported $6.6 billion from Ukraine.

"According to the Polish State Statistics Service, in 2023, Ukraine accounted for 3.2% of all merchandise exports from Poland. According to this indicator, we were in 7th place among our trading partners, overtaking the United States and such EU members as Spain, Slovakia, and Hungary. At the same time, the dynamics of growth of Polish exports to Ukraine in 2023 was the highest among the top ten countries that are the largest trading partners," the MP emphasized.

Moreover, he noted, the actual balance of trade with Poland for Ukraine is much more negative than it is evident from official statistics – "due to underestimation of imports." While Ukraine, "according to their statistics, is a bigger partner for Poland as an importing country."

"In the case of blocking automobile customs crossings, this is a real shot in the foot. Because our bilateral trade in general is already more profitable for Poland, especially given the current asymmetric restrictions on our agricultural exports (where we have already agreed to compromises)," the MP stated.

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