European Commission to discuss Ukrainian agriexport issues with Ukraine, neighboring states

Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager spoke of this today in Strasbourg following the meeting of the European Commission’s Collegium, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Officials from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as Ukraine, will meet to discuss current issues, the commissioner said.

As reported earlier, the mentioned five nations addressed the EC with a letter requesting to take protective measures to cap agricultural imports from Ukraine, as the large flow of grain and foodstuffs entering the EU market from Ukraine led to a drop in prices for such products and inflicted financial damage on agri-companies in countries bordering Ukraine.

Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia banned all imports of Ukrainian agricultural products into their territory. Yesterday, the European Commission reiterated its position that it does not support such unilateral action as the issue of trade regulation belongs to the EU competence. Earlier, the EU allocated EUR 56 million to support farmers in EU states bordering Ukraine. Yesterday the spokeswoman for the European Commission announced a second, larger package of such assistance that is being designed.

The EU's Solidarity Lanes were set up on the borders with Ukraine in response to Russia's naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, through which Ukrainian grain had been exported to the world market before the war started. The blockade bore a threat of famine in the most vulnerable countries across the world.

To address the threat, on the initiative of the UN and Türkiye, the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative was launched, which allowed for exporting a certain share of Ukrainian grain but the campaign is currently being blocked by the Russian Federation.

The EU's Solidarity Lanes allowed Ukraine to export over 25 million tonnes of grain by land (by road and rail), as well as via inland waterways.