The European Commission has notified the governments of Poland and Hungary that the ban on imports of cereals and other agricultural products from Ukraine decreed over the weekend violates the rules of the European Union. Brussels recognizes that farmers in these two countries are going through a difficult situation due to the collapse of prices, but rejects “unilateral measures” Warsaw and Budapest and calls for coordinated action.
Poland and Hungary announced on Saturday that they had decided to ban imports from Ukraine to protect their agricultural sector, claiming they were suffering from a avalanche of grain supply from the country at war which is plunging prices across the region. “The veto is total, including the ban on transit through Poland,” has said the Polish Minister of Technology and Development, Waldemar Buddha.
The Warsaw maneuver has caused particular surprise in Brussels because the radical right-wing government of Mateusz Morawiecki it has been Ukraine’s main supporter within the EU since the start of the Russian invasion a year ago. The Government of Slovakia has also announced on Monday that will join the ban on Ukrainian agricultural imports.
[La UE busca vías alternativas para desbloquear las exportaciones agrícolas de Ucrania]
“We are aware of the announcements from Poland and Hungary about the ban on imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. We are requesting more information from the corresponding authorities to be able to evaluate the measures”, said a spokeswoman for the Community Executive.
“In this context, it is important to underline that trade policy is the exclusive competence of the EU and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable. In such difficult times, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU,” the spokeswoman added.
Brussels has announced a new aid package (whose endowment has not yet been finalized) to compensate farmers in the East for the fall in prices. A collapse that they attribute to the EU decision to remove all tariffs on Ukrainian products after the outbreak of the war and also to the railway corridors authorized to help export Ukrainian cereals, circumventing the Russian blockade of the Black Sea. Some runners starting in Poland.
The European Commission already approved in March an initial aid of 56 million euros for farmers in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania. “Farmers in countries bordering Ukraine have expressed concern about the effects of increased imports of grains and oilseeds from Ukraine on local markets. Trade disruptions caused by Russian aggression should not harm farmers in neighboring countries“The community executive said then.
However, Brussels has proposed extending for at least one more year (until June 2024) the removal of tariffs on Ukrainian products. The countries affected by the increase in imports ask to reconsider this decision. The consequences of the Polish and Hungarian veto will be discussed at a technical level this week to try to find solutions, diplomatic sources have announced.
