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Poland calls for EU sanctions on Russian, Belarusian farm products

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Monday called on the European Union to impose "full" sanctions on food and agricultural imports from Russia and Belarus in response to bloc-wide farmer protests. "I would prefer that we, as the entire European Union, decide on sanctions against Russia and Belarus regarding food and agricultural products," Tusk told reporters in Vilnius, adding that a joint EU decision would be "more effective" than individual decisions by its member states.

Reuters WORLD
Published March 04,2024
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Poland, seeking to meet the needs of protesting farmers, plans to ask the European Union to put sanctions on Russian and Belarusian agricultural products, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday during a visit to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.

Like much of Europe, Poland has been gripped by protests in recent weeks as farmers demonstrate against EU environmental regulations and what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine since the bloc waived duties on imports in 2022.

Last week, Tusk said that market disruptions were also caused by agricultural products from Russia and Belarus and did not rule out introducing a ban.

"I would like to inform you that today I will turn to the Speaker of the Parliament with a proposal for a resolution calling on the European Commission to impose sanctions on food products from Russia and Belarus," said Tusk during a joint conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

Tusk said that joint EU decisions would be more effective than measures introduced by individual countries. Simonyte said Vilnius would support the initiative.