• The EU states affected by the influx of agricultural products from Ukraine and which have taken the decision to temporarily suspend Ukrainian imports, especially grain imports, are criticized by some EU member states.
On Tuesday, 25.04.2023, during a meeting that took place in Luxembourg and which brought together the ministers of agriculture from the member states of the European Union, the representatives of France, Finland and Latvia expressed their disapproval of the decision of some Eastern European states to suspend Ukrainian agricultural imports.
French Minister, Marc Fesneau, quoted by Agerpres, stated: "We must have a common position. Solidarity is common and market positions must be common. There cannot be solidarity expressed on behalf of the 27 for the five or six countries that may be affected and at the same time that some states within this package take unilateral decisions without these decisions being taken at European level ".
Thus, the decision of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria to temporarily ban imports of some Ukrainian agri-food products was harshly criticized during the meeting.
French Minister, discussing the measures already taken at the level European Commission, says that first of all, what has been done with the 56,3 million euros already granted should be investigated and what will be done with the second package of 100 million euros, before France takes a position official on this subject. At the same time, it demands the analysis of the agricultural sectors in the entire European Union, not only those in the states neighboring Ukraine, in order to establish the degree of damage due to the conflict situation.
EU unity questioned
Minister of Agriculture of Finland, Antti Kurvinen, he also added that unilateral bans on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products are not the right way. "These restrictions may call into question the EU's unity in supporting Ukraine, and I fear that this will reinforce Russia's messaging and narrative about the war."
Latvian Minister, Didzis Smith, signals the difficult situation at the level of the state he represents, regarding egg and poultry imports from Ukraine, declaring against the European Commission's plan to authorize only the transit of agricultural products from Ukraine through the five most affected states. It also calls for the EU's crisis reserve to be used for all countries affected by the armed conflict, including Latvia.
In response to their statements, the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture, Istvan Nagy, said that both Hungary and other Eastern European states want to maintain until the end of 2023 the temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products: "We would like the Commission to accept our measures as we want to maintain them until the end of the year so that we can allow our farmers to harvest and store their crops."
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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