On Monday 27 June, MEP Jérémy Decerle (Renew Europe, France) suggested an agricultural exception to speed up the exit of Ukrainian products by lorry via the crossing points in Poland and Romania.
Mr Decerle participated in a mission to Ukraine of the Renew Europe Group’s food safety ‘task force’, led by Romanian Dacian Cioloș.
The aim of the mission was to discuss food supply and exports with the Ukrainian authorities.
The mission, according to Decerle, is “complementary” to the one carried out by several members of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee to assess the effectiveness of food corridors at the Poland-Ukraine border (see EUROPE 12976/16).
Due to the war in Ukraine started by Russia, the Black Sea ports, which were transporting food outside Ukraine, are blocked.
Mr Decerle spoke of the difficulties encountered at the border, with “queues of around 50 kilometres”.
“There are no specificities, no changes in the way that food products are allowed into Europe,” he told EUROPE. For the moment, administrative obstacles at European level mean that the passage of trucks between Ukraine and Europe is not smooth.
“Stocks are building up towards the EU border, as the exit points in Poland and Romania are not able to move all the goods out”, he added.
Together with Dacian Cioloș, he intends to raise the awareness of the leaders of European countries so that, on these issues of logistics for the removal of food stocks, there is provision for “an agricultural and food exemption to ensure that those who transport agricultural and foodstuffs by lorry are given priority”.
“We need to get the products out of Ukraine to build up storage capacity for the Ukrainians”, said the MEP. The idea is not to “let anything and everything through, but to provide for administrative procedures to be carried out a little after the border”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)