The European Commission announced on Friday that it had reached an agreement with five EU countries, including Poland, Romania and Hungary, to guarantee the transit of Ukrainian grain following an import ban imposed by several of these countries and deemed “unacceptable” by Brussels. This is reported by AFP.

In May 2022, the EU suspended customs duties on all imports from Ukraine for a year and arranged to allow it to export its grain stocks following the closure of Black Sea routes following Russia’s invasion of the country in February. 2022 year.

EU countries neighboring Ukraine have seen a massive increase in imports of corn, wheat or sunflowers from Ukraine, which has led to oversaturation of silos and a drop in local prices.

Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria banned imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine in mid-April, saying they wanted to protect their farmers, setting off a standoff with the European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy.

Four Ukrainian products will be banned from import, and the agreement guarantees the transit of grain

The commission reached an “agreement in principle” with the four countries, as well as Romania, on Friday to “address the concerns of both Ukraine and neighboring EU countries,” Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced.

The agreement provides for an end to the unilateral restrictive measures taken by these countries, in exchange for “exceptional protective measures” for four Ukrainian products that are considered “the most sensitive”: wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds.

Assessments will also be conducted on other Ukrainian products, such as soybeans and olive oil.

On April 19, the Commission also pledged an additional €100 million in aid for affected farmers in the five countries, following an initial €56.3 million package at the end of March of funds taken from the Common Agricultural Policy crisis.

First of all, the agreement guarantees the possibility of transit of Ukrainian grain and agricultural products through five states to third countries – a decisive moment for Kyiv, which seeks to continue exporting its products.

“This agreement will simultaneously preserve Ukraine’s export capacity to continue feeding the world and the livelihoods of our farmers,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter.

The transit of grain and other agricultural products through Poland to other countries, suspended by Warsaw for almost a week, was officially resumed on February 21, but maintaining a strict ban on the Polish market.

Earlier on Friday, the governments of 27 countries agreed to extend for a year the suspension of customs duties on all Ukrainian products imported into the EU.

What measures have the five countries taken regarding Ukrainian grain and what does Hungary want

In fact, Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea announced on Wednesday that the European Commission will ban the import of wheat and other Ukrainian products to Romania until June 5.

Hungary wanted the ban on Ukrainian wheat imports to remain in place until the end of 2023, Budapest Agriculture Minister Istvan Nagy said, adding that other neighboring countries also wanted the same.

Hungary on April 16 suspended wheat imports from Ukraine after Poland ordered the same measure following protests by its farmers over flooding markets with large quantities of Ukrainian wheat and other grains at prices below local production.

Slovakia and Bulgaria have also followed suit, while the Romanian government has announced that it will seal and monitor shipments of grain from Ukraine transiting Romania, as well as carry out customs checks on all agricultural products coming from the neighboring country.