2024-02-09 21:20 update: 2024-02-12, 14:52
Photo: PAP/EPA/OLIVIER MATTHYS
The European commissioner for agriculture has rebuffed calls from the Polish defence minister and the leader of his old party to resign.
Janusz Wojciechowski has come under pressure owing to pan-European protests on Friday by farmers angry with reforms to EU agriculture policy he has promoted.
Wojciechowski, a Polish politician elected to the European Parliament from the socially-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party's list, became the European commissioner for agriculture in 2019 and was backed, at that time, by the then PiS government.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Polish defence minister, who is also a deputy prime minister, has urged Wojciechowski to resign, blaming him for the latest burst of protests by European farmers against reforms Wojciechowski "himself proposed".
The farmers oppose the adoption of the European Green Deal and excessive imports of Ukrainian produce, as well as the recent decision by the European Commission (EC) to prolong duty-free trade with Ukraine.
"I want to make it very clear to Mr Kosiniak-Kamysz that I do not accept instructions from him," said Wojciechowski, arguing that EC members cannot accept guide-lines from the member state governments.
Meanwhile, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the PiS leader, said that Wojciechowski should quit, and that he himself will ask him to do so.
"I take the opinion of Mr Jaroslaw Kaczynski very seriously, but I will retain the opportunity to present information about my actions in the EC. I will not fold under pressure," Wojciechowski said in reference to Kaczynski's comment.
"For today, I do not envision any such decision," the commissioner added.
According to him, "some politicians have too little knowledge," about his activities in the EU. He added that he has not heard about any agricultural organisation in EU that was demanding his resignation.
"I separate the voice of politicians from the voice of farmers," Wojciechowski said.
The latest protests, which saw farmers block roads in Poland, Spain, Hungary and Belgium, are expected to last for another 30 days. Polish farmers are planning to block the border crossings to Ukraine, as well as disrupt traffic in large cities.
Previously, Polish farmers held a series of nationwide demonstrations on January 24. (PAP)
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