The European Union will step up inspections to check that transporters comply with their obligations when taking grain out of Ukraine to respond to farmers’ concerns and liberalize trade, which will benefit the entire EU bloc, European Transport Commissioner Adina Valean told Reuters. , according to Agerpres.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting in recent weeks, and among their complaints is what they call unfair competition from cheap Ukrainian produce. Many farmers, especially in Ukraine’s neighboring countries, say they have been affected by the EU’s decision to open so-called “solidarity corridors”, cancel customs duties, and other measures aimed at helping Kyiv get grain on the market. In Poland, farmers have launched nationwide protests, blocking checkpoints on the border with Ukraine and blocking access to ports and roads.

“Closing borders is never a good idea, especially borders with a neighbor who needs communication so badly,” said Adina Valean. “As long as the agreements are executed correctly, there should be no problem, and we are working to strengthen enforcement. In other words, we must check whether the operators do not violate the agreement, that they can only perform bilateral operations, that they have the right of transit,” added the European Commissioner.

In addition, Adina Valean emphasized that EU countries benefit from trade with Ukraine. Road exports from Poland, Romania and Slovakia to Ukraine grew by double digits and exceeded the growth of goods supplied from Ukraine to these countries, Valean added. This “shows that there is a beneficial exchange for countries that share a common border,” the European commissioner said.

Ukraine has exported more than 64 million tons of grain, oil crops and related products through the solidarity corridors since their creation in May 2022 and until January of this year, Valean said. In January alone, approximately three million tons of grain were transported in transit, of which approximately 2.04 million tons passed through Romania, she said.

Grain came to Romania by road, rail and barge on the Danube. Although transit through the port of Constanţa slowed in January, car and rail exports to southern European countries accelerated as a result of EU-funded investment in rail infrastructure, Valean said.

But transit along the Danube remained the most important, given that at least 1.2-1.5 million tons of grain cross the Danube every month, and another 500-700 thousand tons of other products, such as fuel, enter Ukraine.

Valean added that Ukrainian officials are discussing with their Romanian counterparts the installation of floating cranes in the port of Constanta, which will increase the port’s monthly throughput by one million tons.