The Ministers of Agriculture of 12 EU member countries, including Greece, France and Germanyexpressed “serious concerns” over restrictions imposed by five eastern European countries on Ukrainian grain imports, as part of a compromise agreement reached in late April with Brussels.

Mid April Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria unilaterally banned the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine as the stockpiling of these items caused prices to fall in local markets. It is recalled that in May 2022 the EU abolished customs duties on agricultural products of Ukraine, due to the war with Russia. As the guardian of the EU’s trade policy, the European Commission reached an agreement in late April with these four countries and Romania, which stipulates that they can block the availability of Ukrainian wheat, corn and sunflower oil on their domestic market, provided that they will not prohibit their transit to other European countries.

These “selective import restriction” measures by the Ukraine, which were taken “without consulting the member countries”, raise “serious concerns because they lead to a differentiated treatment within the internal market”, says the letter obtained by AFP. The letter is signed by the ministers of agriculture of Austria, Belgium, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia.

“At the very least, clarification is needed” regarding the relationship of this interim agreement to European rules, the EU’s obligations under its customs agreement with Ukraine and its implications for other member countries, the letter continued.

“The lack of transparency is serious, in light of the fact that the Commission states that it is ready to maintain these measures”, i.e. to extend for one year, starting from June 6, the abolition of customs duties on products imported from Ukraine.

The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky he spoke on Tuesday of “severe even tough protectionist measures”, calling for all restrictions to be lifted as soon as possible.

The ministers of the 12 countries are also asking for “additional talks” before approving aid of 100 million euros for the farmers of the eastern European countries affected by this crisis. They also want “explanations” for the use of these resources proposed by the European Commission. A first package of 56.3 million euros was already granted in March.

The Commission said it would respond to the letter and present the arguments “for which we consider these measures necessary, mainly in terms of securing the transit” of Ukrainian grain, as explained by a representative.