This article was originally published in English
The European Commission has decided to lift restrictions on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
The European Commission has announced the lifting of restrictions on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, which were decided in April and expire today. The measures limited the import of food raw materials only to the transit of Ukrainian grain to the five Eastern European countries.
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In return for the withdrawal, Kiev agreed to take measures to prevent distortions in markets in neighboring member countries, where producers had faced difficulties due to competition from food from Ukraine, which was produced at a lower cost and therefore more economically .
Poland and Hungary are against it, Bulgaria is adapting instead
However, Poland and Hungary have expressed their willingness to respond to Brussels’ decision with a unilateral import ban. However, Bulgaria will adapt to the choice of municipal executive body, although Sofia had proposed maintaining restrictions until the end of the year.
The embargo was in effect from May 2nd. The European Commission had pledged to phase it out despite opposition from Warsaw and Budapest. In particular, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki was personally vocal, saying he would fight to prevent “Ukrainian wheat from flooding us.” And that “no matter what the officials in Brussels decide, we will not open our borders”.
For its part, Ukraine has agreed to introduce “all legal measures” to control exports and prevent them from harming the markets of neighboring countries, as the European Commission itself announced in a statement. The measures in question will be adopted by Kyiv within 30 days, but must be submitted by Monday, September 18.
A long tug of war over wheat
Since their introduction, the bans have been an element of conflict between Brussels and Kiev, as the Ukrainian government considers them “unacceptable” and contrary to the spirit of solidarity towards the war-ravaged nation. Several Member Statesincluding Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium, had also expressed “serious concerns” about the negative impact of the restrictions on the internal market, which should operate under the same rules for all countries.
In fact, a diametrically opposite vision compared to the Polish one. Whose government must also appear steadfast in the face of this General elections planned for October 15th: For the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, this is an attempt to attract rural voters. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has also announced a dispute over this issue within the European institutions.
Faced with such a delicate matter, Brussels has chosen a compromise: lifting restrictions, but in exchange for control over flows entrusted to the Ukrainian government. Ahead of the decision, Dmytro Kuleba, Kiev’s foreign minister, said his government expects Brussels to “keep its word and lift any blockade.”
The Ukrainian executive had also raised the possibility of taking legal action at the World Trade Organization if the bans were extended.