The two heads of state need to find a solution for the renewed threat of border crossing blockades by protesting Polish farmers. Poland is also at risk of conflicting with the European Union's trade and customs regulations over this issue.
A government spokesperson in Warsaw declined to disclose details about the time and place of the meeting between Duda and Zelenskyy, citing 'security aspects.' Relations between the two neighboring countries have seriously cooled in recent weeks due to the grain issue, in the midst of the heated campaign for the Polish parliamentary elections on October 15.
On Tuesday, Ukraine warned it might invoke international arbitration against restrictions on their grain exports. This weekend, a temporary ban expires, which five EU neighboring countries (‘the frontline states’) believe should be extended.
Due to the temporarily imposed restrictions in May, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia were able to prohibit domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds, while allowing transit to other destinations.
They contend that (cheap, partially EU-subsidized) Ukrainian agricultural products must not enter their domestic markets. However, these goods may be transported overland and by rail in sealed containers.
Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski agrees with this stance, but the other EU commissioners do not. Furthermore, the Poland-born Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development argues that the EU should grant subsidies for the additional transportation costs of Ukrainian grain to EU ports.
As a result, the issue is causing tensions not only between Warsaw and Kyiv but also between Warsaw and Brussels, and among the 27 EU commissioners themselves.
The matter was extensively discussed on Tuesday and Wednesday in the European Parliament and at the European Commission's weekly meeting, which included large delegations from those five countries. The current ‘export ban’ expires on Friday. For extension and additional subsidies, Wojciechowski and the obstructive Polish and Hungarian governments require a new Commission decision.
Reportedly, Brussels might agree to a very short extension, of no more than two months, but well beyond the Polish parliamentary elections.
The fact that agriculture in these five countries suffers damage because the EU lifted quotas and import tariffs on non-EU Ukraine is a major point of contention in the election rhetoric between Polish proponents and opponents of the EU agricultural policy.