The European Union defends the extension of the veto on grain imports from Ukraine until the end of October

The European Commission defended on Tuesday an extension until at least the end of October of the right to veto grain imports from Ukraine granted to Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia due to unrest in their market.

The current veto expires on June 5, and its extension until the end of October, when the harvest ends, is aimed at ensuring that these five European countries at the forefront have sufficient storage capacity.

The information, confirmed after the meeting of European Union (EU) agriculture ministers in Brussels, contradicts the demand of the Minister of Responsibility of Ukraine Mykola Solsky, who called for not extending this restriction, allowing only the import of Ukrainian grains by the rest of the EU member states – except for June 5, considering that “this is not the way” to resolve the issue.

On the other hand, this proposal of the head of the community also does not satisfy the five countries bordering Ukraine, which are asking for an extension of the veto right until at least the end of 2023 and to assign “adequate” financial compensation to their farmers, the Slovak delegation pointed out on social networks.

“We have a big problem with stocks in the warehouses of these five countries, which now have more grain than in Ukraine, the reason for extending the temporary ban on imports,” explained European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, expressing the hope of being able to convince other states -members who criticize what they consider to be “differential treatment” in the domestic market.

In particular, he mentioned France, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, which sent a letter to Brussels on 12 May demanding transparency in veto decisions, concerned that a precedent might be set.

According to the data presented by the Polish Commissioner, imports of agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU increased from 7 billion euros in 2021 to more than 13 billion in 2022, and that “more than 80% of this increase came from the five countries” that are currently using temporary veto.

“Liberalization [das importações] this is EU support for Ukraine, but producers in these countries pay the price of this support,” the commissioner explained, adding that the opening of the European market for Ukrainian cereals was a “shock” for the markets of these countries.

For this reason, Brussels provided them with 100 million euros from the anti-crisis reserve, which, however, remain blocked, since Hungary still does not allow Ukrainian products to pass through its territory.

“I hope that there are no obstacles and that this money will reach the farmers of these five countries bordering Ukraine as soon as possible,” he said, adding that he also takes the lawsuit of the Ukrainian side “very seriously”, for those who believe, however, that this extension of the veto would also be “beneficial”.

The European Commissioner said that the restriction on imports of corn, wheat, rapeseed and sunflower seeds granted to these countries is a “fair” criterion that meets “special” circumstances, since they relate to 80% of the increase of 6,000 million euros in imports of cereals from Ukraine.

“It is right that your products [da Ucrânia] circulate and are sent to third countries or more distant countries within the EU, such as Spain or Portugal,” the commissioner said, adding that grain storage facilities in countries bordering Ukraine are “almost full,” especially in Poland.