The European Commission is looking for ways to allow eastern EU member states to restrict imports of agricultural products from Ukraine as it extends trade liberalization with Ukraine for another year, until June 2025, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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The EU has suspended import duties, quotas and trade remedies on imports from Ukraine since June 2022 to support its economy after the Russian invasion. However, the export of cheap Ukrainian grain has sparked protests by governments, farmers and truckers in neighboring countries such as Poland and Hungary, the newspaper notes.
EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said that the European Commission is going to submit a proposal to extend this until June 2025, taking into account the sensitivity of agricultural sectors in the eastern member states of the bloc.
The existing agreement provides for safeguard measures, but they are applied only if there is an impact on the entire EU market, the publication notes.
We are looking for the best ways to do this, including the possibility to have safeguards not only in case of disturbances in the EU market as a whole, but also in case of disturbances in one Member State or several Member States
The EU trade chief said that the European Commission is exploring ways to protect the most sensitive products, adding that he has discussed the issue with the agriculture ministers of Poland and Hungary over the past 24 hours.
One EU diplomat said that the plan would allow affected EU members to take quick action within the first four months, subject to a three-week assessment by the European Commission. Ukraine will also be asked to come more in line with EU standards.
Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that the influx of cheap Ukrainian grain had "destroyed" Central European markets.
"We have banned imports of Ukrainian grain and some agricultural products... We would like to maintain this measure... We would like to return to the original agreement that was supposed to ensure the transit of Ukrainian grain," he said.
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Until mid-September last year, the EU allowed five countries-Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia-to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds while allowing their transit for export to other countries.