Ukraine's path to EU accession narrows as war drags on

Résumé détaillé

OSZCZOW-KOLONIA, Poland, Nov 11 - When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, Polish farmer Miroslaw Halej wanted to help refugees who flooded across the border near the village…

OSZCZOW-KOLONIA, Poland, Nov 11 - When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, Polish farmer Miroslaw Halej wanted to help refugees who flooded across the border near the village where he lives in eastern Poland.

He did so initially by helping distribute food and clothing for them but, as the war ground on, his views began to shift.

His sympathy has given way to resentment that some of the people who arrived from Ukraine appear to be prospering while Poland's farmers worry about their own future, especially as Kyiv pursues membership of the European Union.

"The mood has definitely changed," Halej, 63, said as chickens roamed at his farm in Oszczow-Kolonia, a village of about 70 people some 280 km (175 miles) southeast of Warsaw.

Halej, who grows wheat, beets, rapeseed and beans in the border region, has taken part in a series of Polish farmers' protests over Ukrainian grain imports.

He voiced concern that Ukraine's large agricultural sector - which produces at much lower costs than farmers in the EU - could flood Europe with cheap farm produce.

"The biggest worry is definitely that the prices of our products would drop," he said. "If there were a free market, we wouldn't stand a chance."

Joining the EU soon is an important aim for Ukraine as it tries to complete its exit from Moscow's orbit, but there is scepticism in the wealthy bloc of 450 million people about Kyiv's prospects of achieving that goal.

Some European leaders have said they hope to welcome Ukraine into the bloc in the next few years.

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