Hungary will maintain the ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine until a relevant decision is made at the European Union level. This was stated by the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy, he writes RIA News. He said that he also discussed the situation with European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and agreed on a bilateral agreement between Hungary and Ukraine. Nagy noted that closing the borders to Ukrainian grain could lead to lawsuits, but the interests of Hungarian farmers come first.
At the end of March 2023, five European Union countries bordering Ukraine (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) appealed to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking for help in resolving the emerging crisis. With the flow of grain products from Ukraine. In response, the European Commission adopted temporary restrictive measures aimed at eliminating logistical difficulties associated with these products in the union’s border countries. These measures were implemented on 2 May and were extended until 15 September.
However, on September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of four types of agricultural products from Ukraine to many EU border countries, but obliged Kiev to introduce export control measures. In response, the authorities of Slovakia, Hungary and Poland announced a unilateral extension of the ban. Hungary expanded the ban nationally; The list of banned products included 24 items, including grains, meat, poultry, eggs, honey, vegetables and wine. In this regard, Ukraine filed a complaint with the WTO. In response, three EU countries announced their intention to boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain.
Robert Telus, Head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture requested Not to suspend, but to withdraw Ukraine’s complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Previously expert saidIt could replace the previous grain agreement.