Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice President of the EU Commission, shared on his social media account after meeting with the representatives of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, which are against the import of agricultural products from Ukraine and have implemented measures against it.
“We have reached an agreement. The EU Commission has reached an agreement in principle with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia on Ukraine’s agricultural and food products.” Using the expression Dombrovskis stated that they have found a solution to alleviate the concerns of farmers in EU countries neighboring Ukraine.
Dombrovskis pointed out that the countries that have implemented unilateral measures against Ukrainian products within the framework of the agreement will put an end to this, and stated that these countries can apply exceptional protection measures for wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower.
Pointing out that 100 million Euros of financial support will be given to farmers affected by Ukrainian products in 5 countries, Dombrovskis noted that Ukrainian products will be exported to other EU countries.
About the process
After the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War and the inability to make shipments from the Black Sea ports for a long time, a significant amount of Ukrainian grain and food products began to be sent to Eastern and Central European countries by land.
A large amount of agricultural products from Ukraine entered the markets of the border countries Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and nearby Bulgaria. Relatively cheap Ukrainian grain and food products have upset producers in these countries.
Farmers in the countries of the region have been demanding an end to cheap agricultural products from Ukraine for a long time. These countries decided last week to impose a temporary ban on grain and food from Ukraine.
To address the concerns of countries banning grain imports from Ukraine, the EU Commission has prepared a plan that includes providing additional support to farmers if products are allowed in transit, and imposing restrictions on some Ukrainian products.