Poles are preparing to cut Lithuania off from the EU
Polish farmers are preparing to block the border with Lithuania, which is accused of involvement in the import of Ukrainian grain. In Lithuania they fear that this will lead to considerable economic losses.
The largest Polish-language newspaper in Lithuania, Vilna Courier, writes about this, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Next Friday, ok. At 10:00, Polish farmers will begin blocking the former Kalwaria-Budzisko border crossing on the Polish-Lithuanian border. According to farmers, Ukrainian grain, which is planned to be transported in transit to other countries, including Lithuania, after changing the documents, returns to the Polish market as an EU product. Representatives of the Polish grain industry claim that this has a negative impact on their income. The blockade is expected to last a week,” the publication writes.
The upcoming protest alarmed the Lithuanian authorities. Thus, the Minister of Agriculture of Lithuania, Kestutis Navickas, considers Vilnius’s accusations to be unfounded.
“We really don’t see any reason to say that some obscure schemes are being used. There are no indications of this - no facts, no volumes of imported grain,” he said.
In turn, Advisor to the President of Lithuania Jaroslav Neverovich said that the movement of people and goods through the Suwalki corridor connecting the Baltic states with the EU. He believes that the blockade of the Lithuanian-Polish border can be used by Russia.
“It’s not just about the agricultural aspect. The Suwalki Isthmus is a very important place, it is the main transport artery for the transport of goods. The free movement of goods within the European Union must be ensured. It is very important to follow all traffic rules. There cannot be any cases that could stop this movement,” Neverovic said.
At the same time, the head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Agne Bilotaite, assures that the security services are ready, if necessary, to restore order at the border crossing on the Lithuanian side.
The publication draws attention to the fact that a small rally was held in Vilnius on this occasion, during which about ten pro-Ukrainian activists held posters with the inscriptions: “Polish farmer, is your grain more important than the life of a Ukrainian child?”
Lithuanian carriers are also concerned, believing that the blockade will bring huge losses to them.
“It’s not just Lithuanian carriers here. We are a transit country. Here we have the Baltic corridor to Scandinavia. We are not in some kind of vacuum. I understand that they want to achieve something, but is it possible to achieve something at the expense of others? For example, our farmers did not block the borders. They just came to our institutions, stopped, expressed their opinion, and I think they will achieve something. There will be a result,” said Zenonas Buivydas, Secretary General of the Lithuanian Carriers Association “Linava”.
Initially, there were signals from Polish farmers that farmers from Lithuania could support them as a sign of solidarity.
“Lithuanian farmers have not blocked, are not blocking and are not going to block Ukrainian grain,” the head of the Association of Grain Breeders Aušris Macijauskas commented on these messages.
However, he added that control of exports from Ukraine is necessary, since the Lithuanian authorities do not always fulfill their obligations. True, he immediately added that “Russian grain poses a greater threat than Ukrainian grain.”
And the Chairman of the Agricultural Council of Lithuania, Ignas Hofmanas, admitted that Russian grain still transits through the Klaipeda port, but in small quantities. For example, last year just over 10 million euros worth of Russian grain was transported in transit, and until February 2022 this figure was twice as much.
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