The European Commission (EC) agreed with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria to lift the ban on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine. We are talking about the purchase of wheat, corn, rape and sunflower, said the deputy head of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis.
"I am happy to announce that we have reached a political decision regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. We agreed with Ukraine and its five neighboring EU member states on how to resolve the situation," said Dombrovskis.
The EC will also provide €100 million in aid to farmers in countries affected by the grain glut in exchange for the lifting of unilateral bans on the import of products from Ukraine.
- After the start of a full-scale war, the European Union canceled all tariffs and quotas for the transit of Ukrainian grain. Farmers from Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia were reported to have lost €417 million due to the influx of Ukrainian grain into their markets.
- Already on April 15 , Poland banned the import of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine, and also decided to introduce a ban on their transit there.
- Subsequently, a ban on imports was announced in Hungary and Slovakia, but they promised to maintain transit. The European Commission called the decisions of the three countries unacceptable. After the negotiations, Poland promised to resume grain transit. However, the European Commission agreed to ban the import of wheat, corn, rape and sunflower. The European Commission also decided to allocate an additional €100 million to help farmers who suffered losses.