• The Minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, announced that European Commission officials could ban wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed imports from Ukraine until June 5.
Following the participation in the Council for Agriculture and Fisheries in Brussels on 25.04.2023, Minister Petre Daea explained that a support decision was adopted by the European Commission. The measure could be applied in 48 hours if the states that resorted to unilateral actions withdraw them.
Also, Petre Daea participated in a working session in videoconference format with Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner responsible for trade policy at the EU level and Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski.
During this meeting, the representatives of Romania emphasized that our country is currently seriously affected by imports from Ukraine, given that the other neighboring states have taken unilateral measures to ban them.
The Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, stated that the unilateral measures taken by the four states regarding grain imports from Ukraine are illegal and requested their withdrawal, so that the Commission's proposals could be implemented, which aim, among other things, to stop wheat imports , corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed from Ukraine, until June 5. This was confirmed on Wednesday evening, in a press conference, by the Minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea.
Unilateral measures are illegal
"EC Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stated bluntly that the unilateral measures taken by the 4 European states are illegal, they contravene the Accession Treaties and the Association Agreement concluded between the EU and Ukraine, calling on the 4 states to withdraw them, otherwise the Commission's proposals will not be applied.
The two commissioners presented a support package that commission makes it available to the 5 countries, composed of 100 million sum from the crisis reserve of the EC, to be distributed in the next period and a package to regulate imports from Ukraine.
It provides for the activation of exceptional safeguarding mechanisms, which means stopping imports until June 5 for the following products: wheat, corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed.
The commissioner mentioned that this measure can be taken within 48 hours after the states that have taken unilateral measures withdraw them."
He added that the stoppage of imports will only be at the level of the 5 countries in the vicinity of the conflict, being their common requests, and that the corridors for transporting grains to known destinations will be maintained.
EU members have both rights and obligations
Minister Petre Daea, quoted by Agerpres, referring to the measures recently proposed by the European Commission, declares that: "The majority of states agreed to these amounts, and then, through the working group, to validate and then enter the necessary legal path to be able to receive the respective amounts. If the other countries do not give up, Romania will receive, on the one hand, the amount and will also receive the decision taken by the Commission to ban imports into Romania from Ukraine."
It also specifies: "The commissioner told us to agree as soon as possible. Tomorrow and the following days, through our representatives in Brussels, I will make sure and I am convinced that the other states also have an interest in this happening as soon as possible. They cannot stay illegally, because they start infringement procedures.
How could you believe that a normative act, through a ministerial order, could be legally opposed to a regulation or an association agreement validated by the European parliaments and which was concluded, under the conditions in which tomorrow comes in the customs of the respective countries a product, and that product enters on the basis of a commercial contract, with payment to the supplier or the beneficiary and it is not allowed to enter the respective country?
The person goes to court and immediately any judge understands that the normative act of the European Union is of a higher degree, that we are members of the EU and if we are members, we also have rights, we also have obligations, we have rules and laws that we must respect ".
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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