Several Members of the European Parliament expressed their concern on Wednesday 6 July that Ukrainian agricultural exports are failing to reach vulnerable third countries in Africa and the Middle East.
MEPs debated ways to facilitate exports of agricultural products from Ukraine, where the war started by Russia has led to a blockade of Black Sea ports.
Mikuláš Bek, the Czech Minister for European Affairs, recalled that Russia was blocking Ukrainian exports. “Urgent action is needed and Ukraine must be able to export to international markets”, he said.
The Czech Minister supported measures to facilitate transport by land and rail. He mentioned, as did the European Commission, the Ukraine-Moldova agreement to facilitate land transport. Mikuláš Bek suggested actions to reduce the dependence of the most vulnerable countries on certain commodities and to alleviate tensions in the global marketplace.
On behalf of the European Commission, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said that the solidarity corridors are working (2.5 million tonnes exported in June).
The Chair of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany), called for more to be done in the supply chain to ensure that the products in question leave Ukraine and reach their destination in third countries, rather than remaining in the EU.
Dacian Cioloș (Renew Europe, Romania) advised simplifying customs procedures at the border to facilitate road transport.
Bronis Ropė (Greens/EFA, Lithuania) denounced Russia’s actions in stealing grain from Ukraine and spoke of the risk of famine in Africa.
For Bert-Jan Ruissen (ECR, Netherlands), “despite the solidarity lanes, there are still major obstacles to the transport of grain from Ukraine. With all the consequences that this implies, particularly for Africa and for countries such as Lebanon, where food shortages are reaching worrying proportions”.
Eugenia Rodríguez Palop (The Left, Spain) spoke in particular about the need to guarantee food sovereignty in vulnerable countries.
Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italy) called for a European Food Summit to address the challenge of food security in the EU and the rest of the world. “The Commission and Member States must ensure that Ukrainian wheat destined for third countries transits through the EU without causing any disturbance to European markets”, he said.
Rasa Juknevičienė (EPP, Lithuania), meanwhile, suggested the establishment of an international naval mission ensuring the safety of ships carrying food in the Black Sea.
Several MEPs have highlighted the risks of new migratory flows into Europe due to famine.
Eric Andrieu (S&D, France) had proposed the day before to “make the approach to agrofuels more flexible so that the 8% of grain for agrofuels is directed towards food and feed”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)