In a letter sent to the European Commission on Wednesday 10 May, the agriculture ministers of 13 EU countries express their “serious concerns” about the agreement with Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia to address the negative effects of the influx of Ukrainian grain into the EU.
In April, these five countries bordering Ukraine banned imports of grain from Ukraine (see EUROPE 13174/3). The European Commission proposed on 28 April to grant €100 million in aid to farmers in these countries and safeguard measures temporarily banning Ukrainian grain imports into these countries (except in the case of transit of these products to third countries).
The countries that wrote the letter (France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, Estonia, Denmark and Slovenia) called for urgent clarification of the agreement and said that “the integrity of the interior market cannot be an adjustment variable”. The selective limitation of imports from Ukraine leads to “differential treatment” within the internal market, the letter says.
The concerns relate to how the agreement relates to the rules and functioning of the EU internal market, the EU’s obligations towards Ukraine and the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The letter asks the Commission to discuss further with the countries how and why the €100 million (crisis reserve) was granted (see EUROPE 13169/1).
The Commission said, on Friday 12 May, that it had informed the other Member States through the normal procedures following the 28 April agreement with the five Member States on imports from Ukraine. It stated that the EU countries’ vote on the €100 million in aid from the agricultural crisis reserve had not yet been voted on by EU countries (see EUROPE 13174/3).
In addition, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, indicated on 10 May that the Commission could activate a safeguard clause by restoring tariffs on Ukrainian poultry imports.
Link to the letter from the 13 EU countries: https://aeur.eu/f/6v5
‘Black Sea Agreement’. In addition, the extension of the international agreement (which expires on 18 May) on the export of Ukrainian grain is close to being concluded, according to Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar. Ankara was one of the key players in the conclusion of the so-called ‘Black Sea Agreement’, signed on 22 July 2022 for 120 days by the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey.
The opening of this maritime corridor on 1 August allowed almost 30 million tonnes of agricultural products to leave Ukraine for China, Turkey, the EU, but also countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Bangladesh and Yemen.
Farm Europe calls for sustainable solutions. In an analysis to be published next week, the think tank Farm Europe says the EU should “find sustainable solutions to Ukrainian grain imports, instead of piling on compensation measures one after the other”.
Farm Europe claims that the increase in the flow of agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU is here to stay.
New processing capacity will be needed to add value to the additional 10-14 million tonnes of cereals per year that will remain in the EU, according to the think tank. This paradigm shift calls for a new direction for the European Green Deal, according to Farm Europe. Despite the resources deployed to calm the protests, calls for the application of safeguard clauses are still being made, says the think tank.
By encouraging investment in the bioeconomy, Farm Europe believes that maize, wheat, barley and sunflower production can be converted into protein, energy and all kinds of valuable biomaterials. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)