Polish farmers resume Ukraine border protest

Cyfrowy Polsat SA

04/01/2024 08:55

WARSAW, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Polish farmers blockaded the
Medyka border crossing with Ukraine on Thursday, private
broadcaster Polsat News reported, resuming a protest intended to
secure government subsidies for corn and prevent tax increases.
    The farmers, who are demanding a written agreement with the
government, had suspended their protest at the crossing in
southeastern Poland on Dec. 24 after a meeting with Agriculture
Minister Czeslaw Siekierski. 
    Protest leader Roman Kondrow was quoted by Polsat News as
saying the farmers were happy with talks they had with the
minister and the local governor, but that they wanted a formal
agreement. 
    On Wednesday Kondrow, said that although Siekierski had
provided a note telling the farmers their demands would be met,
the prime minister had not given a signed declaration.
    "We want to sign a bilateral agreement," Kondrow told a
press conference on Thursday. "If such a thing is created, the
protest will be suspended until the demands are implemented."
    Polish truck drivers have been blocking several border
crossings with Ukraine since Nov. 6. They want the European
Union to reinstate a reciprocal system that requires Ukrainian
companies to obtain permits to operate in the bloc.
    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in December that he
believed Warsaw was close to being able to end the truckers'
protest.
    
    

 (Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Koper, Editing by Timothy
Heritage)
 ((alan.charlish@thomsonreuters.com;))