The subject-matter of the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission

Minister Czesław Siekierski summarised the state of cooperation between Poland and Ukraine in the agri-food sector. He stressed that in those areas Poland and Ukraine would always cooperate and compete with each other.

The Polish minister raised the issue of the import of agri-food goods from Ukraine. He explained that the change of logistics routes and the liberalisation of trade between the European Union and Ukraine had resulted in a snowballing increase in the import of some agri-food products to Poland. In response to the serious disturbance in agricultural markets and growing social unrest, Poland had to introduce certain restrictions on the import of selected goods from Ukraine.

– We want to develop a method of protection against the negative effects of agricultural import from Ukraine, which will be acceptable to all participants – stressed Minister Siekierski.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture expressed hope for developing a mechanism for mutual licensing of export of agricultural products.

Referring to Ukraine’s European aspirations, Minister Siekierski announced that Poland was ready to share its knowledge and experience in adapting the Ukrainian agri-food sector to the requirements of the European Union. He also expressed hope for cooperation between Poland and Ukraine for the purpose of joint export of food to third country markets.

The Chief Veterinary Officer Paweł Niemczuk stressed that our veterinary services had done a lot of work so as to ensure the control of goods on the Polish-Ukrainian border. He also thanked the Ukrainian side for lifting restrictions on Poland in connection with the Newcastle disease.

Bilateral talks

Before the plenary session of the Polish-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czesław Siekierski met with the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi and the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Ukraine Taras Kachka.

The Ministers discussed the issues of trade in agricultural products, taking into account the sensitivity of the agricultural sectors of both countries.

Minister Siekierski stressed that it was necessary to secure the Polish market against the negative effects of excessive agricultural import from Ukraine. The lifting of the current import ban in the future will require the previous introduction of solutions that will effectively and systematically regulate this trade.

Minister Solskyi informed that Ukrainian exporters were increasingly using solidarity corridors other than Polish ones for the purpose of exporting agricultural goods from Ukraine, which would allow to relieve Polish transport infrastructure and reduce transit.

The Ministers agreed that at that stage it was also necessary to involve representatives of the agri-food sector of Poland and Ukraine in dialogue and to develop practical solutions.

Both sides agreed to continue the talks on 18 March 2024 in Warsaw. The meeting will constitute a preparation for the Polish-Ukrainian intergovernmental consultations scheduled for 28 March 2024 in Warsaw.

On the meetings of the Intergovernmental Commission

The co-chair of the Polish-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation on the part of Poland is the Minister of Economic Development and Technology Krzysztof Hetman. The co-chair on the part of Ukraine is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk. The previous, 8^th meeting of the Polish-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation was held on 22 September 2022 in Rzeszów.