Poland Refuses to Lift Embargo on Ukrainian Grain

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Facts

• Poland will not lift its embargo on imports of Ukrainian grain, irrespective of what the European Commission decides later this week, the country's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday.¹
• 'Poland will not allow Ukrainian grain to flood us,' Morawiecki announced on X, adding: 'Regardless of the decisions of the clerks in Brussels, we will not open up our borders.'¹
• Morawiecki added that he had called on the EU to extend the ban on the entry of Ukrainian grain, or else, 'we will do it ourselves because we can't allow for a deregulation of the market.'²
• Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania have imposed an embargo on Ukrainian corn, wheat, sunflower, and rapeseed between April and mid September this year, reportedly to prevent a supply glut in their home markets.²
• In April, the Commission signed a deal with the above five EU countries to guarantee the transit of Ukrainian cereals after calling their import bans 'unacceptable.'³
• The deal followed protests by local farmers who complained that they were unable to sell their crops due to an oversupply of Ukrainian grain in their markets, which also drastically brought prices down.⁴

Sources: ¹POLITICO (a), ²Associated Press, ³Euronews and ⁴POLITICO (b).

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by European Pravda. Poland has helped Ukraine tremendously over the last several months, providing it with weapons and accepting its refugees. However, the latest developments suggest that the honeymoon period is regrettably coming to an end. Ukraine has no choice but to challenge Poland's decision, which reflects a failure to show solidarity with its neighbor amid an overarching military threat to Europe.
• Narrative B, as provided by POLITICO. The influx of Ukraine's grain in Polish markets has decreased prices and negatively affected farmers' ability to make a living. Poland continues to support Ukraine, but its primary duty must be to protect its own national economy and the interests of its people.

Predictions