Polish farmers on Sunday (24) suspended protests blocking the busy Medyka border crossing, located in southeastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine.
The strike was ended after the government publicly committed to rejecting the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which is facing resistance in several countries in the European bloc due to the expected impact on local producers.
Poland’s Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski personally went to Medyka to negotiate with the protesters and then published details of the agreement on his official X (formerly Twitter) account.
“We maintain our unquestionable opposition to the treaty with Mercosur, as farmers demand. This will be formalized not only as a position of the Ministry of Agriculture, but also of the Polish government and parliament”, stated the minister, highlighting that the protest was suspended after this commitment.
The Mercosur-EU agreement, negotiated more than 20 years ago and politically agreed in 2019, aims to create one of the largest trading blocs in the world by reducing tariffs between the European Union and countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
However, European farmers, especially in Poland and France, have expressed fears that the agreement would allow the entry of cheaper and less regulated agricultural products such as beef and poultry, harming the competitiveness of local producers.
“Farmers know that I don’t bring agreements in a suitcase. We conduct a responsible policy, and today we reinforce our determination to protect Polish agricultural production,” said Siekierski, recalling that the dialogue with the protesters began more than a year ago, in the context of previous protests against cheap imports of Ukrainian grain.
During Sunday’s negotiations, Polish farmers presented a preliminary list of demands, including exclusion from the Mercosur-EU agreement and the redistribution of financial resources to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters on the agricultural sector.
Siekierski established a clear schedule: by Tuesday (26), farmers must finalize their demands, and, by December 10, the Ministry of Agriculture will present a detailed action plan, including technical analyzes and consultations with experts.
Additionally, new working groups have been announced to address long-term issues in the agricultural sector, ensuring that decisions are made together with producers. “It will only work with the cooperation of farmers, the Ministry, the government and European institutions”, highlighted Siekierski.
Opposition to the treaty is not exclusive to Poland.
Last week, France reiterated its opposing stance, with Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard highlighting that agricultural practices permitted in Mercosur countries, such as the use of pesticides banned in the EU, violate the principles of sustainability and fair competition.
