Poland insists on changing rules of trade in Ukrainian agricultural products

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The influx of Ukrainian agricultural products has made production unprofitable not only in Poland: farmers in other EU countries are also beginning to feel it, Ukrainian media quoted Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski as saying at a press conference after a meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on Monday.

"Certain rules should be laid down for Ukraine's trade with the EU, especially Poland. We should distinguish assistance from economic issues, from trade that should have a rational, normal basis and comply with the principles of a market economy," Siekierski said.

European farmers need financial assistance, considering the costs of the Green Deal and the European market's opening to agricultural products from non-EU states for which they are not responsible, he said.

In his words, the European Commission has set excessively high, irrational and expensive requirements by the Green Deal, which was due to mitigate climate change and help restore the environment but led to the bankruptcy of many farmers instead.

"This does not mean we should stop protecting climate, it's just that we should act differently. The European Commission should revisit its plans," Siekierski said.