A Commission spokeswoman said, “We are aware of what some member states have announced regarding unilateral measures. What is important now is for all countries to work in a spirit of harmony and engage constructively.”
Ukraine was one of the world’s largest grain exporters before the outbreak of war in 2022 reduced its ability to ship agricultural products to global markets through its ports on the Black Sea.
Since then, Ukrainian farmers have relied on exporting their grain products through neighboring countries.
However, the export of grains and oilseeds to neighboring countries affected the income of local farmers and led some governments to impose a ban on the entry of agricultural imports from Ukraine.
The European Union intervened in May to prevent countries from acting unilaterally and imposed a ban on Ukrainian exports to neighboring countries.
Under the EU ban, Ukraine was allowed to export through those countries on the condition that the products were sold in other countries.
The European Union decided to end this ban on Friday after Ukraine pledged to take measures to tighten controls on exports to neighboring countries.
This issue is of particular importance to Poland, which is preparing to hold general elections in October.
Farmers represent a large voter base for the ruling nationalist Law and Justice Party.
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced on Friday that they would continue to impose restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports despite the Commission’s decision.
“Our focus now is on putting the new system that was just announced in place and making it successful,” the Commission spokeswoman said, adding that the meeting that will be held with representatives of all concerned EU member states tomorrow, Monday, will provide an opportunity to discuss this issue further.
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