European Commission criticizes decision of Poland and Hungary to ban Ukraine grain imports

"We are aware of Poland and Hungary's announcements regarding the ban on imports of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. In this context, it is important to underline that trade policy is of EU exclusive competence and, therefore, unilateral actions are not acceptable," the European Commission spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement.

In such challenging times, the spokesperson added, it is crucial to coordinate and align all decisions within the EU.

As reported, Hungary followed Poland into temporarily banning the import of grain and oil crops from Ukraine.

Over the past few months, Polish farmers have held mass protests, in particular, opposing the transportation of Ukrainian agricultural products through the territory of Poland to third countries. They emphasized that a significant part of Ukrainian grain was not transported further by transit, but stayed in Poland, thus reducing the purchase prices for the grain of Polish farmers in Poland. Under the pressure of farmers, the Polish government appealed to the European Commission to cancel zero duty on Ukrainian agricultural products. However, the European Commission did not comply with the main demand of Polish farmers to impose duties on Ukrainian agricultural goods and extended the agreement on duty-free import for Ukrainian goods for another year, until June 5, 2024.

On Wednesday, April 5, against the background of the Ukrainian grain crisis, Polish Agriculture Minister Henryk Kowalczyk resigned. On Thursday, Robert Telus was appointed as the new minister and convened on the same day an interdepartmental crisis headquarters to resolve the problem with the influx of Ukrainian grain into the Polish market.

During his official visit to Poland on April 5, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed this issue with Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki. After that, he told a media briefing that this problem will be solved in the near future.

During a meeting on April 7 at the border with his Polish colleague Telus, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Solskyi said that Ukraine will suspend the export of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower to Poland until the new season.