Polish Agriculture Minister Czesław Siekierski announced plans for discussions with his Lithuanian and German counterparts on Friday, addressing the ongoing agricultural protests
The meetings with Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Kestutis Navickas and German Agriculture Minister Cem Oezdemir, who is visiting Warsaw, aim to explore solutions to the unrest that has recently seen German farmers go on strike.
The talks come ahead of a planned protest by farmers from northeastern Poland at the Polish-Lithuanian border in Budzisko, starting Friday, and anticipated to continue until March 7. The protest’s primary objective is to advocate for tighter controls on the transport of Ukrainian grain through Lithuania to Poland, with Polish farmers urging Lithuania to adopt similar grain transit regulations and ban Ukrainian grain imports.
The protests prompted a special summit in Warsaw on Thursday, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk met with protesting farmers. Tusk assured that the government would take all necessary measures to safeguard Polish agriculture, including lobbying in Brussels for changes to the Green Deal’s agricultural provisions and extending the embargo on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products. A follow-up meeting has also been announced.
These developments occur as farmers across the European Union, including Poland, organize protests. Key demands include the abolition of the Green Deal regulations, stricter border controls to prevent the entry of agri-food products from non-EU countries, and the protection of animal husbandry within Poland.
