A grain warehouse in the Ukrainian port city of Izmail, April 26, 2023.
Kyiv – Any restriction on the import of Ukrainian grain to European Union countries is “fundamentally unacceptable”. This was stated today by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in a note sent to diplomatic representatives of the EU and Poland in Kyiv, Reuters wrote. Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia are facing protests from domestic farmers who see imports of Ukrainian agricultural products as the cause of their own sales problems. The European Commission promised them support.
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Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria this month restricted the import of some Ukrainian agricultural products. All these countries, as well as Romania, also refused to support the extension of the duty-free regime for food and agricultural products imported from Ukraine.
“Such restrictions, whatever their justification, are not in accordance with the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the rules of the EU single market,” the Ukrainian ministry said. “There are legal grounds for the immediate resumption of imports of Ukrainian agricultural products into Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, as well as the continuation of exports to other EU member states,” it added.
The European Commission announced on Friday that reached an agreement with the countries in question that the unilateral measures would be lifted. According to her, the agreement also includes support for farmers worth 100 million euros (roughly 2.4 billion CZK) and the possibility of extraordinary protective measures. Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said today that he welcomes this conclusion.
Ambassadors of European Union countries agreed on Friday in Brussels to extend the duty-free regime for food and agricultural products imported from Ukraine for a year. ČTK was informed by a diplomatic source. The agreement does not contain restrictions for certain cereals requested by the five Eastern European countries, led by Poland. In the coming weeks, the European Commission wants to propose an EU-wide solution that will replace unilateral import bans to these countries. Brussels is talking about the possibility of temporarily limiting the import of wheat, corn, rape and sunflower seeds.
