Ukraine protests to Poland and EU against ban on grain imports
Corn is loaded onto a truck at a grain storage facility in the city of Bilohira, Ukraine, on April 19. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had handed over notes to Polish and EU representatives in Ukraine on Friday about restricting imports of Ukrainian grain to EU countries.
“Such restrictions, whatever the reason, do not comply with the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and the principles and rules of the EU single market,” the ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
“There are all legal grounds for the immediate resumption of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, and for continued unhindered exports to other EU member states and, in general, unrestricted transit of all Ukrainian products to other countries within and outside the EU,” the statement said. The report said.
The announcement comes after several European countries, including Poland and Hungary, banned imports of grain and other food products from Ukraine. The European Commission condemned the move, saying it was not up to individual members to decide trade policy.
In its statement on Saturday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on its partners to find a “balanced solution”.
“This is the only way to successfully counter Russia’s large-scale war of aggression against Ukraine and strengthen the EU single market, of which Ukraine is a member,” the statement said.
