The European Commission is convinced that everyone must adhere to the rules.

The European Union will strengthen inspections of carriers to ensure that they adhere to agreements on the rules for transporting grain from Ukraine across the EU. This is how the European Commission wants to reassure farmers who are protesting, writes Reuters.

It is noted that farmer protests have spread not only to Poland, but also to other European countries. They have many complaints, and dissatisfaction with the import of Ukrainian grain is one of them.

“Closing borders is never a good idea, especially borders with a neighbor that needs communication so much. As long as agreements are implemented correctly, there should be no problems, and we are working to strengthen implementation. In other words, we need to make sure that [транспортные] the operators are not violating the agreement that (…) they have the right to transit,” European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean told Reuters.

She noted that exports of goods by road from Poland, Romania and Slovakia to Ukraine are growing at a faster rate than reverse exports from Ukraine. This “shows that there is a beneficial exchange for border countries as well,” Valean said.

Farmer protests in Europe

As wrote, Polish farmers have been blocking the supply of Ukrainian grain to Poland for a long time, including that which is in transit to other regions of the world. However, the matter is not limited only to Poles.

We also reported that this week farmers on tractors blocked the center of Brussels, where EU agricultural ministers had gathered. At the same time, a massive farmers’ protest took place in Madrid. Farmers complain about bureaucratic obstacles, unfavorable trade agreements, climate rules and Ukrainian grain.

In January, French farmers organized aggressive protests in the center of Paris.