This was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, in an interview with “European Pravda,” as reported by Ukrinform.
Commenting on recent polls of Poles, which for the first time showed a majority in Poland against Ukraine’s EU accession, Bodnar noted that “Poles are still for us in the EU – but on the condition of fulfilling all accession requirements.”
“Here, we have a narrative from both the government and the opposition that Poland went through its own path before joining the EU, met the necessary conditions, and now Ukraine must follow the exact same road,” the ambassador pointed out.
According to him, this is an extremely “overheated” topic in Poland, dating back to 2023 when Ukrainian grain genuinely created competition in the Polish market.
“Since then, a ban on grain imports emerged and remains in effect. Similarly, there are issues in other areas of economic interest – in agriculture, transport, and so on. That is, these are fears of competition with Ukrainian businesses in the European market. But these fears can be overcome through cooperation,” the diplomat is convinced.
In his opinion, the drop in support for Ukraine’s EU accession has occurred now precisely because it is influenced by problems in bilateral relations, the ongoing war, and Russian propaganda.
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“For ordinary Poles, the issue of Ukraine’s EU accession is linked to public opinion about Ukraine in general. In addition, statements from some Polish politicians are heard about a ban on Ukraine’s EU accession, demanding a referendum, and many other proposals. But this topic can and must be worked on. And I consider the current polls a signal that we cannot relax. That Polish support is not guaranteed in advance,” the ambassador cautioned.
As Ukrinform reported, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ignacy Niemczycki, stated that after the opening of the second negotiation cluster in Ukraine’s European integration process, Poland intends to protect its most sensitive sectors during negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, particularly in the agricultural sector.
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За матеріалами: www.ukrinform.ua