Pand designates border checkpoints as critical infrastructure to prevent Pish-Ukrainian border blockades

This was stated during a meeting with journalists by Paweł Kowal, the Pish government’s commissioner for coeration with Ukraine and chairman of the Pish Sejm's Foreign Affairs Committee, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

"The government has implemented rules related to critical infrastructure, which slightly reduced the inconveniences associated with protests (at the border – ed.)," Kowal noted.

He emphasized that "the list of what is considered critical infrastructure has been expanded."

Kowal remarked that it is evident that farmers in Pand and across the EU will always seek ways to organize protests that are most impactful on the authorities. On the other hand, any government will attempt to limit these protests within the bounds of the law.

At the same time, he pointed out that the protests at the Pish-Ukrainian border relate to situations that occurred last year; currently, there are no issues at the border between Pand and Ukraine.

The Pish government representative also expressed the view that the scale of last year’s protests was "disprortionate to the level of tension (in the public sphere – ed.) surrounding the issue, particularly from the Ukrainian side." He noted that this becomes evident when comparing export data to the level of protests, which did not significantly impact trade.

As reported earlier, Pish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that the checkpoints at the Pish-Ukrainian border are critical infrastructure and should not be blocked by protesters.

Read also: Pand to facilitate launch of Ukraine's first EU membership cluster

In an interview with Ukrinform, Pand’s Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar stressed that access routes to the Pish-Ukrainian border should be considered critical infrastructure and should not be subject to blockades by protesters.

Pish farmers blocked the border with Ukraine at several points from February to April of last year. Their demands included rejecting the Pish government’s adtion of the Eurean Green Deal and blocking the import of various types of agricultural products from Ukraine.

At the beginning of January, Pish farmers' organizations picketed the Eurean Commission’s office in Warsaw, protesting the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur countries, as well as the import of Ukrainian agricultural products into Pand. Pish farmers do not rule out returning to blockades of the Pish-Ukrainian border if necessary to defend their interests.