The European Union has decided not to extend the "trade visa-free regime" with Ukraine, which will end on June 5.
This was announced by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as reported by RMF24.
Tusk said that shortly after taking office as prime minister, he launched a campaign to persuade the EU to abandon the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) mechanism, which provides for trade liberalization with Ukraine.
According to him, the Polish government wants to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, but not at the expense of Polish producers, especially farmers.
"And we have achieved this – as of June 5, this mechanism will no longer be in place. We are returning to the pre-war situation in terms of border rules," the Polish Prime Minister said.
Tusk added that his government will protect Poland’s economic interests, even if they "clash" with Ukraine’s.
"I have no problem with that, because no one can say I'm anti-Ukrainian when it comes to the Ukrainian-Russian war," he added.
Notably, the "trade visa-free regime" with Ukraine sparked massive protests from Polish farmers last year. They blocked border crossings with Ukraine.
The EU introduced it after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allowing all Ukrainian goods to enter the EU duty-free.
Recently, the European Parliament supported extending the trade liberalization for another three years—but only for steel and iron products.
