EU countries want to add to list of banned Ukrainian agricultural products - media
MOSCOW. April 20 (Interfax) - The EU countries that have imposed bans on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products want to expand the list of prohibited goods proposed by the European Commission, which is limited to wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, by adding new items, Ukrainian media reported citing the Polish portal rmf24.pl.
Referring to its sources, the portal claims that each country has its own list. Poland specifically wants to expand the EU ban on the import of eggs, poultry, sugar, honey and some fruits from Ukraine, while Bulgaria wants to ban flour and butter, and Hungary poultry, honey and flour.
Due to these disagreements, negotiations involving representatives of the five EU countries and the Executive Deputy Head of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis, which took place on April 19, ended without an agreement.
According to a source, during the meeting, a common "wish list" for countries that temporarily banned Ukrainian products was created. Since the list turned out to be large, it was difficult to approve it in its proposed form.
Negotiations will continue in the coming days. Dombrovskis urged their participants to come to an agreement as soon as possible.
Unilateral national measures to restrict the import of Ukrainian agricultural products are unacceptable. The new 100 million euro assistance package proposed by the European Commission to support farmers from affected countries and joint measures to solve the problem are possible only if these unilateral restrictions are abandoned, Eric Mamer, head of the European Commission official representatives service, said at a briefing in Brussels on Thursday.
"If you carefully read yesterday's statement by Executive Vice Chairman Dombrovskis, you will see what he said: the measures proposed by the commission now depend on whether these countries lift their unilateral measures so that we can move towards a more European framework" Mamer said.
Answering questions about the likelihood of sanctions against those countries violating European legislation by introducing unilateral measures, Mamer noted that at present the goal is to reach a common decision as soon as possible as a result of consultations.
"When we have problems with member-states that take measures that are inconsistent with EU law, (...) we do not go directly to the courts. As a rule, there is always at least a phase where we have discussions with member-states. So why not carry out the same procedure here, especially given the exceptional circumstances?" the European Commission representative asked.
He reiterated that Brussels offers a common European approach to try to deal with the problem.
The European Commission, he said, is proposing preventive measures for several months against four agricultural crops from Ukraine - wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed, while in relation to complaints about some other types of Ukrainian agricultural products, a study will first be performed.
He also said that the European Commission still plans to extend the zero duties on imports of Ukrainian products introduced in June 2022 for another year, considering this measure as temporary. Among the goals of the EC is also to reduce the cost of transportation along the "Solidarity Roads," so that Ukrainian exports, in particular agricultural products, "can continue to reach the volumes and those countries that we have seen in the past," Mamer added.