Transit of Ukrainian cereals: Brussels reaches an agreement with 5 EU states
The European Commission has announced that it has concluded an agreement with five EU states to guarantee the transit of Ukrainian cereals. The EU had suspended in May 2022, for one year, customs duties on all products imported from Ukraine and had organized itself to allow it to export its cereal stocks after the closure of routes by the Black Sea, following Russia’s invasion of the country in February 2022.
Neighboring EU states had seen a massive increase in arrivals of corn, wheat or sunflower from Ukraine, causing silos to become saturated and local prices to fall. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria had banned cereals and other agricultural products imported from Ukraine in mid-April, saying they wanted to protect their farmers, opening a showdown with the Commission, responsible for policy EU trade. The Commission concluded on Friday a ” agreement in principle “ with these four countries as well as with Romania, so as to “respond to both the concerns of Ukraine and those of bordering EU countries”announced Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
The agreement provides for the end of the unilateral prohibition measures taken by these countries, in exchange for “exceptional safeguard measures” concerning four products from Ukraine deemed “most sensitive” : wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds. Assessments will be conducted on other Ukrainian products such as soybeans and olive oil.
The Commission had also promised on April 19 additional aid of 100 million euros for farmers affected in these five countries, after an initial envelope of 56.3 million euros granted at the end of March, funds taken from the crisis of the Common Agricultural Policy.
Above all, the agreement guarantees the possibility of transiting Ukrainian cereals and agricultural products through the five states to third countries, a crucial point for Kiev, anxious to be able to continue to export its production. “This agreement preserves both Ukraine’s export capacity so that it continues to feed the world, and the livelihoods of our farmers”praised Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Twitter.
The transit of cereals and other agricultural products through Poland to other countries, suspended by Warsaw for almost a week, had already officially resumed on February 21, but maintaining the strict ban on selling them on the Polish market. Earlier Friday, the governments of the Twenty-Seven agreed to renew for one year the suspension of customs duties on all Ukrainian products imported into the EU.