Five EU countries have struck a deal with the European Commission on shifting millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain out of the region after almost two weeks of intensive negotiations, EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said Friday.
“I’m glad to announce that we have reached a political agreement concerning Ukrainian agrifood imports in the EU. We’ve agreed with the five neighboring EU member states and Ukraine on how we’ll tackle the situation,” Dombrovskis said.
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria restricted imports of Ukrainian produce earlier this month following protests by farmers unable to sell their crops due to a supply glut.
As previously announced, the European Commission will put forward emergency safeguard measures for wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, Dombrovskis said, adding that investigations into other products could follow.
He did not provide more details on what the emergency measures entail, but EU diplomats say that the imports of those products into those five countries will be blocked unless for transit into other EU or third countries.
The EU will also support the countries with some €100 million.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the deal, arguing that it “preserves both Ukraine’s exports capacity so it continues feeding the world, and our farmers’ livelihoods.”
Poland earlier heralded the deal.
“We have just now finalized agreements with the European Union regarding the ban on the import of these agricultural products, which above all led to destabilization in the Polish market,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said.
