“This is an economical war about who will produce food for 500 million people”

Ewa Zajączkowska-Hernik at a press conference of the Confederation on agricultural protests, 22 February 2024.

– This is clearly a war. This is an economical war about who in fact in the European Union will produce food for about 500 million people. That's the game.

We have a very absorbent marketplace for consumers and Ukraine for many, many years trying to enter this market. At first, it entered through quotas. We have established in various negotiations how many EU products can enter our EU market, on the Polish marketplace in adequate quantity to avoid harming our native producers. On the another hand, Now there is simply a scandalous situation where this marketplace has been completely without qualitative control, without quantitative control and without customs control open to products.

Ukrainian products. What Mr Peter said is highly important, due to the fact that the request to halt imports of agri-food products is indeed a temporary request. So do we. we cannot completely close to Ukrainian products due to the fact that trade works both ways. And if we do this, we will do it permanently, Ukraine may as well treat us the same and our farmers are full aware of this, just to be clear.

Confederate Press Secretary @EwaZajaczkowska: This is an evident war and it is an economical war about who in fact in the European Union will produce food for about 500 million people. That's the game. We have a very absorbent marketplace for consumers and... pic.twitter.com/9ZLwf6RTgs

What we are now proposing, i.e. the temporary ban on Ukrainian products being imported into the Polish market, is part of negotiations between the Polish and Ukrainian sides. Let us remember that Polish farmers besides export their agri-food products to the Ukrainian market. I We cannot let this marketplace to be closed to us too. due to the fact that then, for example, our milk producers will have a immense problem where to dispose of their products, and this will origin another crisis on the Polish agricultural market.

We cannot sacrifice Polish agriculture for the profit and well-being of abroad companies. Dutch, German, American companies that bought the land in Ukraine and took over production there. This full strategy, which the European Union is now conducting and is about to implement, will simply consequence in CO2 emissions being transferred beyond the borders of the European Union. All agricultural production will be transferred beyond the borders of the European Union. This will be a immense danger for us due to the fact that we cannot become dependent on food imports, We cannot depend on the import of strategic, strategical natural material, which is food.

We all request to eat, we all request food products on our store shelves, and we cannot make us dependent on whether or not individual will be able to deliver these products to us outside the borders of the European Union.

The issue of the European Green Deal. We gotta remember that these are 2 strategies. The European Green Deal is simply a biodiversity strategy, which means that about 10% of forests will be left without full human care. What happens to these woods then you don't know. Probably. We will endure various consequences in relation to strategies or directives of Polish forestersLike Natura 2000, but nobody's reasoning about it.

Yeah. This is 1 of the main problems of the EU that nobody thinks about what will happen in the future If we have any solutions. And who will bear the consequences of these solutions.

Another European Green Deal strategy is Strategy from field to table. A horse with a row of who can combine a chain between a maker and a consumer with a regulation on production. After all, if we reduce production, then automatically this road from the maker to the consumer will not be shortened at all, but it will inactive be difficult.

I just wanted to say that this morning, virtually after 7:00 a.m., one more time A farmer called me asking for support for another household who had already been included on the already celebrated Myrowiec list. household farming in a miserable intellectual state. The farmer's wife doesn't know what to do with herself, she feels threatened, she's in a bad intellectual state. He fears for his own life, fears for the lives of his own children, fears for the life of his husband, who was included on this list only due to the fact that he participated in agricultural protests.

This is simply a scandal. Why is Donald Tusk able to go to Ukraine and talk to representatives of Ukrainian authorities and not able to appear on the Polish-Ukrainian border, where Polish farmers protest? Where Polish farmers for protesting are listed on the list of enemies of Ukraine.

This is unacceptable. We anticipate a strong reaction from the Polish government, not relying on Donald pushing his people in the form of minister Kołodziejczak, minister Kołodziejczak, individual there will talk to agriculture. Here concrete systemic solutions are needed, due to the fact that what is happening now with Polish agriculture is simply the result.

This is the consequence of many years of negligence, both in national policy as regards agricultural production and besides in abroad policy.