Polish EU Commissioner initiates restrictions on imports of Ukrainian sugar, poultry meat to EU

European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski (Poland) insists that the European Commission's decision to extend the free trade agreement with Ukraine should include restrictions on the import of Ukrainian sugar and poultry meat to the EU.

This is reported by RMF24, Ukrinform saw.

According to the publication, the European Commission is currently negotiating the extension of this agreement until 2025, and the Polish European Commissioner says he will not sign unless his demands are taken into account.

Wojciechowski insists that the new decree, which will come into force on June 5, should mention restrictions on imports of sugar and poultry meat from Ukraine.

The publication notes that the Polish European Commissioner considers this case a big task for him in 2024. According to him, imports of poultry and sugar from Ukraine have recently increased significantly, and this poses a threat to competitiveness in the EU market and Polish sugar and poultry production.

As per Wojciechowski, the full opening of the EU market to imports from Ukraine would mean consent to consolidate Russia's gains. He argues that Russia has pushed Ukraine out of the Asian markets, forcing it to reorient to the European market, which destabilizes Poland and other neighboring countries. As a result, the European Commissioner believes that Russia is "winning twice": it is gaining new markets and disputes are arising among EU countries.

However, as RMF24 notes, not everyone in the European Commission shares Wojciechowski's position. The services of the European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis, on the contrary, seek to ease the current restrictions. They advocate the abolition of the possibility of a temporary EU embargo in the event of a significant influx of products from Ukraine. At the request of Poland, the European Commission imposed an embargo on Ukrainian grain from April to September last year. Dombrovskis' main arguments are free market principles and the need to help Ukraine. This position is also supported by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

As Ukrinform reported, Polish Minister of Agriculture Czesław Siekierski said that the embargo on Ukrainian products would be indefinite until a separate order to lift it.