Polish protesters may block Ukrainian borders again

Actions to block borders by Polish protesters may resume already in December and become more large-scale. As Roman Kondrov, one of the leaders of the strikers, emphasized, farmers currently expect, among other things, that the Polish government and the Sejm will oppose the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Ukraine and with the countries of South America.

Recently, on November 24, Polish protesters lifted the blockade of the Medyka-Sheghini checkpoint. As reported by the State Border Service of Ukraine, protesters blocked checkpoints with trucks. The action lasted about a day. According to the Polish mass media, the protesters did not have any complaints regarding the transportation of Ukrainian products. But they demanded the maintenance of the level of the agricultural tax in 2024 at the previous level, and also protested against the signing of the free trade agreement between the EU and the South American countries of the MERCOSUR bloc. At the same time, Polish farmers threaten to block all checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border after December 10, if the country's government does not fulfill their demands. The Polish government is not happy about the situation. According to government officials, checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border are critical infrastructure. protesters. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Radosław Sikorski, emphasized in particular, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland is responsible for border issues, and checkpoints and access points to them "are critical infrastructure and should not be places of protests."

As for checkpoints, by the way, it is planned to significantly increase their number on the border with Poland. Currently, the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine presented the draft Strategy for the development of border infrastructure with the European Union and Moldova. The document outlines the main measures and priorities until 2030. The priority of the Strategy is to increase the capacity of the border infrastructure. Currently, this document has already received the approval of the main authorities and may be approved by the Government of Ukraine by the end of this year. In addition, among the objectives of the Strategy are the introduction of joint control with neighboring states, reduction of waiting time in queues and creation of a network of service areas. For the realization of all goals, clear tasks and results that we want to achieve are defined. An important part of the strategy is the monitoring of its implementation, for which the document contains separate indicators. At the same time, the Strategy covers the construction of checkpoints with all countries. In particular, it is about the reconstruction of crossing points with Poland (6), Slovakia (3), Romania (5), Hungary (3) and Moldova (11). In addition, it also talks about the construction of new checkpoints, in particular "Bila Tserkva - Sigetu-Marmaciei", "Bila Krynytsia - Klimeuti", "Ruska - Ulma" and "Shepit - Izvoreale" with Romania, "Velika Palad - Nadgodosh" , "Diyda - Beregdarots" with Hungary".