Ukraine's five-step plan to unblock border with Poland has positive trend – Shmyhal
During the discussion of unblocking the Ukrainian-Polish border for agricultural products, Ukraine proposed Poland a plan consisting of five steps, there is progress in the implementation of some of these steps, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said following a meeting with Polish counterpart Donald Tusk on Thursday.
The first step was Ukraine's consent to restrictions, including safety restrictions, proposed by the European Commission on Ukrainian agricultural exports, he said.
"This is a compromise that is necessary for our countries so that agricultural exports from Ukraine do not pose even a theoretical threat to Polish agricultural producers," he said on the Telegram channel.
The second step was Ukraine's appeal to the European Commission with a proposal to conduct an urgent screening, that is, an analysis of Ukrainian legislation in agricultural policy and transport for compliance with European rules. The European Commission recognized screening of Ukrainian agricultural policy as a priority. Ukraine expects it to begin at the end of April.
Thirdly, Ukraine proposed the European Union to stop Russian and Belarusian agricultural exports.
"We are grateful to the Polish government and the Sejm, which made a corresponding appeal to the European Commission. Our voice was heard in Brussels. The European Commission proposed introducing a 50% increase in duties on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, including grain imports. The new rates should actually stop trade," Shmyhal said.
The fourth proposal of Ukraine was the creation of an anti-crisis headquarters. Within its framework, interaction has already been established between the ministers of agriculture and economy of Ukraine and Poland. The specialized associations of the two countries agreed on similar cooperation on Wednesday.
Shmyhal said that the latest meeting of the joint coordination platform for the export and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products demonstrated the readiness of the parties to develop joint decisions.
The fifth step was Ukraine's appeal to Poland so that free passage across the border would apply not only to ammunition and humanitarian aid, but also to fuel.
"This is important because it directly concerns issues of national security. Poland has added border checkpoints and nearby routes to the list of critical infrastructure facilities. We did the same," the prime minister said, adding that it is important to maintain the positive trends and dynamics for unblocking the Ukrainian-Polish border.