The European Commission announced this Friday an agreement with five Member States, including Poland and Hungary, to guarantee the transit of Ukrainian cereals, after the import bans imposed by several of these countries and considered unacceptable by Brussels.
In May 2022, the European Union (EU) suspended, for a year, customs duties on all products imported from Ukraine and organized to allow the export of its ‘stocks’ of cereals after the closure of routes through the Black Sea , after Russia’s decision. invasion of the country in February 2022.
Neighboring EU states have seen a substantial increase in arrivals of corn, wheat or sunflower from Ukraine, causing silos to become overcrowded and local prices to fall.
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria banned grain and other agricultural products imported from Ukraine in mid-April, saying they wanted to protect their farmers, opening a confrontation with the European Commission, which is responsible for EU trade policy.
The Commission today concluded an “agreement in principle” with these four countries, as well as with Romania, to “address both the concerns of Ukraine and those of neighboring EU countries”, announced Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
The agreement provides for the end of the unilateral prohibition measures adopted by these countries, in exchange for “exceptional safeguard measures” with respect to four Ukrainian products considered “the most sensitive”: wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds.
The evaluations will be carried out with respect to other Ukrainian products, such as soybeans and olive oil.
The Commission had also promised on April 19 an additional aid of 100 million euros to affected farmers in these five countries, after an initial allocation of 56.3 million euros granted at the end of March, funds taken from the Common Agricultural Policy .
The agreement guarantees the possibility of transit of Ukrainian grains and agricultural products through the five states to third countries, a crucial point for Kiev, which was eager to continue exporting its production, even after the grain exit agreement was reached. the Black Sea in August. by Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the United Nations.
“This agreement preserves both Ukraine’s export capacity to continue feeding the world and the livelihoods of our farmers,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
The transit of cereals and other agricultural products through Poland to other countries, suspended by Warsaw for almost a week, had already officially resumed on February 21, but maintaining the strict ban on their sale on the Polish market.
Last Friday, the governments of the 27 countries agreed to renew for one year the suspension of customs duties on all Ukrainian products imported into the EU.
Source: TSF
