The European People’s Party (EPP) and the Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) – the two largest political groups in the European Parliament – condemn countries that block the transportation of Ukrainian grain, warning that such an approach will send a bad signal and serve the Kremlin’s interests, News.ro reports.

• Read also: The crisis of cheap grain in Ukraine: Poland makes concessions and restores the transit of Ukrainian grain. Import remains suspended

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia announced the suspension of imports from Ukraine, condemned by Kiev and Brussels, despite the fact that negotiations are underway with Russia to extend the agreement on the transportation of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. to give the Kremlin additional levers of blackmail.

“Do not do anything to weaken Ukraine. Make sure that Ukrainian grain gets to Africa. Do not take unilateral measures that violate EU law. Such is the message of the EPP Group to the governments of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, which announced the unilateral blocking of the supply of Ukrainian grain to the European Union,” says the statement of the European People’s Group (EPP), UNN reports. the largest in the European Parliament, to which I belong, as well as Romanian MEPs from PNL, UDMR and PMP.

EPP: Commissioner for Agriculture must find a solution

“European governments should not act at the expense of solidarity with Ukraine during the war. Before unilaterally making a decision to block the export routes of Ukrainian products, we need to have detailed information about why these grains or other products were not transited further beyond the borders of Europe and exactly how much Ukrainian grain or other products are stored in European warehouses. We also need to know what demands farmers are protesting in member countries. Any unilateral actions by the member states will only be a step in favor of Russia,” said Sandra Kalniete, MEP, who is responsible in the EPP group for the European Parliament’s position on the temporary liberalization of trade in Ukrainian products.

The EPP admits that the “problems of farmers in countries neighboring Ukraine are real” and asks the Commissioner for Agriculture, Pole Janusz Wojciechowski, to offer “concrete solutions” to these problems. “He has to make sure that the neighbors get help,” says MEP Herbert Dorfmann, spokesman for the EPP’s agriculture group.

The MEP recalled that the so-called solidarity corridors were created to help transport Ukrainian food to third countries when Russian aggression closed Ukrainian ports, and said it was the responsibility of member states to implement these corridors “properly” so that “the transport gets to where”. they need to go.”

While stressing that the grains are destined for countries outside the EU market, Dorfmann also stresses that market disruptions in Europe should be avoided.

But “blocking transport will not help either Ukraine or those outside Europe who suffer the most from the increase in food prices,” said Herbert Dorfmann, Member of the European Parliament, spokesman for the EPP group on agriculture.

European socialists with weapons to Poland

For their part, the European Socialists in a statement condemn the measures of the government in Warsaw, which is ruled by the conservative right, which is preparing for elections.

Socialist MEPs point out that Poland’s ban on Ukrainian agricultural products, which they call “illegal”, is a “hysterical reaction that plays Putin’s game”.

A group of socialists and democrats say that this approach is another “clear example” of the PiS-led government’s failure to comply with EU rules.

“For socialists and democrats, this measure is not only a direct violation of the rules protecting the EU’s common trade policy, but also a serious blow to the partnership between the EU and Ukraine, which will further test Ukraine’s war-ravaged economy,” the message reads. press release of the S&D group.

For their part, the European socialists admit that “in the last year, some member states from the east of the EU, especially Poland and Romania, observed an increase in the arrival of agricultural products from Ukraine as a result of trade preferences. created by the EU in June 2022 and the solidarity corridors created to replace the closed Black Sea trade routes”, but they believe that “both initiatives have proved extremely successful in supporting the war-torn Ukrainian economy, providing much-needed foreign income and mitigating problems, related to the shortage of wheat on world markets”.

Polish MEP: The ban on Ukrainian imports is illegal

Former Prime Minister of Poland and former Minister of Finance, socialist Marek Bielka, S&D vice-president responsible for trade and alternative rapporteur on trade relations with Ukraine, spoke sharply against the right-wing government of his country.

“The recently introduced illegal ban is a hysterical reaction of the Polish government, which is facing strong protests from Polish wheat producers, dissatisfied with its performance in the agricultural sector. Poland’s PiS government has a great talent for blaming others, especially the EU, for its incompetence. Since last year, Polish government officials, aware of the potential side effects of trade facilitation on the Polish wheat market, have done absolutely nothing. They did not improve the efficiency of transit of Ukrainian agricultural products, did not initiate any support program for Polish farmers. When the situation became serious, it did not even occur to them to demand the restoration of tariffs and quotas in accordance with the protective provisions of the EU,” the vice-president of the European Socialists accuses. “Instead, we are witnessing another festival of references to the EU and unilateral measures that violate EU legislation. This is unacceptable,” said a representative of S&D, the second-largest group in the European Parliament, which also includes Romanian PSD MEPs.

“This is not the first time that the PiS government has shown complete disregard for EU norms. However, this time Ukraine suffered the most. Only 10 days after President Zelensky’s historic visit to Warsaw, the Polish authorities are showing that there is nothing more sacred than keeping Jarosław Kaczyński in power (the leader of the party that is disintegrating in Poland – no),” says Marek Bielka.

In a letter to the European Commission last month, the prime ministers of five Eastern European countries, including Poland, said the scale of price increases for products such as grains, oilseeds, eggs, poultry and sugar was “unprecedented” and said that the possibility of applying tariffs on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.

The impact of oversupply has created a political problem for Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in an election year when the economy is mired in stagflation.

Socialist MEP: This decision is very good for Vladimir Putin’s game

Inma Rodríguez-Piñero, S&D MEP from Spain and coordinator of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, reinforces the accusations of her colleague from Poland. She also acknowledges that the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products has caused some market disruptions in some member states, but adds, according to the S&D statement: “Instead of addressing them in a coordinated manner and with the help of EU institutions and other member states, the PiS government decided to break EU rules again and illegally stopped the trade flows he agreed to almost a year ago.”

“I am concerned that this decision makes Vladimir Putin’s game very good in Russia. The import ban strikes directly at the heart of the Solidarity Corridors project, which has created important alternatives for maritime grain shipments in the Black Sea. Now it would be enough for Russia to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative to stifle Ukrainian grain exports again,” she explains.

“This is an unacceptable scenario from a geopolitical point of view, and the Polish authorities should know that it is better to spend the EU’s efforts to support Ukraine,” adds the MEP.

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