Why farmers in Central and Eastern Europe are not happy

[Reporter Connection・World Appearance under the Influence of the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict]

Recently, farmers in some Central and Eastern European EU member states have been unhappy. They took to the streets to demand that the European Union no longer allow Ukrainian grain to be shipped through EU member states to Africa and other regions, and called on their governments to take measures to boycott low-priced grain from Ukraine, one of the world's major grain producers, and to protect the interests of their farmers.

Since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the port of Odessa, Ukraine's main grain export base, has been hit hard, which has had a great impact on the global food supply and led to an increase in global food prices. Since June last year, in order to solve the problem of Ukrainian grain exports, the EU has formulated one-year emergency measures in the shortest possible time - lifting import and export tariffs and quantity quotas between the EU and Ukraine, allowing Ukrainian grain and agricultural products to reach EU territory through railways, roads and waterways of EU member states without restrictions, and then transported from the EU to all parts of the world, opening the "convenient door" for grain exports to Ukraine. However, due to the generally poor infrastructure and limited transportation capacity of the EU CEE member states bordering Ukraine, Ukraine's grain backlog in these countries is very competitive, and some of the grain has begun to be sold in the local market, which has a great impact on the agricultural production and sales of the EU CEE member states, and then caused strong dissatisfaction among farmers.

On April 16, the Polish government decided to ban the import of grain and dozens of food products from Ukraine in order to protect Poland's agricultural sector. In addition, Poland will raise the price of grain purchases, apply to the European Union for funds to maintain the current subsidies for fertilizers, fuel subsidies for farmers, etc., to quell the anger of farmers caused by the influx of grain and agricultural products from Ukraine. The Hungarian government has also decided to ban the import of grain and other agricultural and sideline products from Ukraine. On the 17th, Slovakia adopted the same restrictive measures. It is reported that Bulgaria is also considering whether to ban Ukrainian grain imports. The chain reaction in Central and Eastern Europe has attracted great attention from the EU.

Poland is a neighbor of Ukraine and the largest member of the EU's Central and Eastern European membership. Since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Poland has called itself Ukraine's "most important ally", and has performed very prominently, actively encouraging the EU to increase sanctions against Russia, firmly supporting the EU in providing arms assistance to Ukraine, and mobilizing the whole country to accept Ukrainian refugees. According to EU statistics, more than 10 million Ukrainian refugees have taken refuge in other European countries through Poland, and Poland is also the country that has received the largest number of Ukrainian refugees among EU members. Some EU analysts believe that Poland is using the Russian-Ukrainian conflict to expand its influence in Central and Eastern Europe and even the EU, trying to shift the EU's focus to Central and Eastern Europe.

On the 17th, the EU held an emergency meeting to discuss Ukrainian grain exports. The EU believes that it has achieved remarkable results in solving the problem of Ukraine's grain exports, and has played a positive role in alleviating the humanitarian crisis in food-deficit countries and regions and stabilizing world food prices. According to Eurostat, EU grain and food exports to Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria increased by 31% in 2022 compared to 2021, including food "imported" from Ukraine into the EU. However, the EU also stressed that unilateral restrictive measures taken by Central and Eastern European member states on Ukrainian grain exports are "unacceptable". It is reported that the EU is actively looking for a solution and may give the relevant countries some financial compensation. A spokesman for the European Commission said that the EU's goal is to support Ukraine, not to create new difficulties for EU member states.

In fact, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia issued an "alarm" to the EU in January this year, hoping that the EU would take measures to protect their agriculture from being affected. In March, the EU provided 56.3 million euros in agricultural compensation to Romania, Bulgaria and Poland to support agricultural development in these countries. But the anger of farmers in Central and Eastern European countries has not been extinguished. Poland's agriculture minister even resigned. A few days ago, there was an incident in Poland where farmers blocked the railway tracks connecting the border with Ukraine. Romania, the EU's lowest level of economic and social development, saw what local media called "the largest ever" peasant demonstrations. Farmers took to the streets with bread in hand, adding enormous pressure to the Romanian government.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has lasted for more than a year, and not only the warring parties are deadlocked, but the Central and Eastern European countries bordering Russia are also fatigued on the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. As the general elections in Central and Eastern European countries approach this autumn, all political parties are trying their best to "speak of national interests" in order to win votes. In the context of mutual sanctions between Europe and Russia, the life of EU member states is not good, but at the instigation of the United States, the EU has to provide a lot of funds for Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared in the European Parliament in October 2022 that the EU plans to provide Ukraine with 1.5 billion euros per month. In 2023, the total amount of aid will reach 18 billion euros. Although some EU members have vowed to provide Ukraine with guns, ammunition and even heavy weapons, their arms stocks are insufficient and unsustainable. The Hungarian government's attitude towards aid to Ukraine has become more and more negative. Bulgaria only elected a new government in early April, which can only be regarded as a temporary exit from the political crisis and difficult to do in EU affairs.

As early as 2005, 10 Central and Eastern European countries joined the EU one after another, claiming to have injected "new blood" into the EU. Time has passed, and now many old EU members have criticized the large-scale "eastward enlargement", believing that the EU has put a heavy shackle on itself while expanding its territory. It is not easy for the EU's Central and Eastern European members to undergo a comprehensive and thorough transformation to adapt to the "new life", and the backward level of economic and social development has led these members to be ashamed of themselves, fearing to become second-class citizens of the EU, and eager to be reborn, but often go to extremes. According to EU insiders, the EU has provided a large amount of policy, financial, technical and financial assistance to Central and Eastern European members. In some professional and technical meetings of the European Union, some Central and Eastern European members lack basic negotiation skills and directly demand funds and technology, and are called "giant babies" who do not grow up. An EU official in charge of judicial affairs said that the political and judicial systems of Poland, Hungary and other members still do not meet the EU's "rule of law country" standards, resulting in some EU policies being unable to be implemented.

A senior EU official said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is undoubtedly the largest geopolitical crisis facing the EU, and if this issue is not resolved, there will be no day of tranquility in Europe. The EU's strategic goal is still to go all out to support Ukraine's "final victory", but there are indications that many EU members are overwhelmed and inadequate. The issue of Ukraine's grain exports is a typical political issue that reflects the mentality of some members of Central and Eastern Europe. The EU allows Ukraine to "borrow" the territory of its member states to export grain in order to support the Ukrainian economy. However, the interests of the EU's Central and Eastern European members have been jeopardized as a result. The first to "attack" Ukrainian grain imports was Ukraine's "important ally" Poland. In addition, the EU's provision of a large amount of financial assistance to Ukraine is bound to weaken the financial and technical support for internal members, especially Central and Eastern European members.

After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Central and Eastern European countries, including Poland, strongly called on the EU to admit Ukraine to the EU as soon as possible. As a country with a large European population, Ukraine's accession to the EU will inevitably pose a strong competition for the agriculture of other Central and Eastern European countries. Now, the European Union has listed Ukraine as a candidate for membership. When it comes to their own interests, some Central and Eastern European countries are likely to jump out to restrict Ukraine. Therefore, it remains to be seen how Ukraine's accession to the EU will develop.

(Guangming Daily, Brussels, April 19 -- Liu Jun, a reporter of Guangming Daily in Brussels)

Guang Ming Daily( 2023.04.20.20 Version 12)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily