The European Commission is ready to restrict imports of wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed from Ukraine
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the governments of five European countries that asked to resolve the issue of imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to develop a pan-European approach within the framework of the single markets and customs union, and promised additional financial assistance to local farmers and restrictive measures against Ukrainian products.
This was stated at a briefing in Brussels by European Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant, commenting on the European Commission President’s response to the letter from the prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
“The President presents three proposals to resolve the situation in these markets,” she said.
According to her, in particular, a second package of financial support in the amount of EUR 56.3 million is being prepared for the most affected farmers in these countries.
“Secondly, we will apply preventive measures in accordance with the current trade rules for certain categories of grain. This applies, in particular, to wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed. And third, we are launching investigations into other sensitive products,” Spinant added.
She also said that the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis will discuss these lines of action and proposals with the ministers of the five member states concerned on Wednesday afternoon, as well as with their counterparts from Ukraine.
“From the very beginning, we are committed, on the one hand, to supporting Ukraine in exporting its products, including agricultural products, because this is an important lifeblood for the Ukrainian economy. We want to help bring these agricultural products to the world markets where they are needed, as well as to address the problems related to food security, and we are fully committed to supporting our farmers,” the European Commission representative emphasized.
As part of these proposals, the European Commission is ready to ban imports of wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed from Ukraine to the five countries that reported the problems – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Thus, the decisions taken by the governments of these countries will be replaced by a decision at the EU level. However, the scope of the import ban that the European Commission may impose will be narrower than the one that Poland introduced on April 15.
Such emergency measures and import bans on certain goods will also require Ukraine’s consent to avoid a possible appeal to the World Trade Organization.
This issue is to be discussed today, April 19, at a meeting of European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis with representatives of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, as well as Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.
Earlier, the European Commission called unilateral actions on trade unacceptable after Poland and Hungary announced a ban on imports of grain and other food products from Ukraine, as trade policy is the responsibility of the EU’s joint bodies.
As reported, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria banned imports of a number of agricultural products from Ukraine.
The European Commission has since reminded that it does not support such unilateral actions, as trade regulation is within the EU’s competence. Earlier, the EU allocated EUR 56 million to support farmers in the EU countries bordering Ukraine, and the day before the European Commission spokesperson announced the development of a second, larger package of such assistance.
Further development of the Black Sea and global grain and oilseeds markets will be discussed by UkrAgroConsult analysts and leading agribusiness operators at the EURO GRAIN HUB Exchange & Forum on April 26-28 in Bucharest, Romania. Join the key stakeholders from the Black Sea region, Central & Eastern Europe and Balkans, contributing to the global commodity supply chain.
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