Eastern EU countries are sticking to import bans on grain from Ukraine
Five eastern EU member states want to stick to the import ban for grain from Ukraine after September 15 if the EU Commission does not find another solution by then. He signed a corresponding declaration with his counterparts from Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, said Poland’s Agriculture Minister Robert Telus in Warsaw on Wednesday. One is still “very open” to transit to third countries.
At the beginning of June, the EU Commission decided to extend restrictions on grain imports from Ukraine until September 15. They are still necessary because of limited storage capacity before the harvest season, it was said in justification.
Previously, eastern EU states had independently restricted imports after farmers complained about disproportionate competition from sharply increased imports. The EU trade restrictions specifically affect the five eastern EU countries Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine can no longer be freely traded there. However, the transit of the goods to other EU countries is permitted.
Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that either appropriate mechanisms and regulations will be worked out after September 15 to prevent the destabilization of the market in Poland, or the government in Warsaw will implement this unilaterally together with the other transit countries.
In Ukraine, the possible extension of the import ban was met with incomprehension. She described the move as “discriminating against Ukraine”. While it’s not very realistic at the moment, “I think some mirror-image measures can be taken,” she added.