The Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Slovakian agriculture ministers as well as their Ukrainian counterpart attended a meeting on Tuesday, 26 September, during which they shared their concerns about the effect of ‘solidarity lanes’. According to them, part of the grain that has to pass through their countries remains there and is sold locally, despite the measures in place.
“We are calling on the European Commission to check the efficiency of the solidarity corridors more actively”, said Czech Minister of Agriculture Marek Vyborny.
The four countries affirmed that they “want to find an EU-wide solution to grain exports from Ukraine instead of [imposing] unilateral bans”, according to the Czech minister.
The four countries imposed bans on Ukrainian grain imports on 15 September after the European Commission lifted its restrictive measures (see EUROPE 13251/1). Since then, Slovakia and Poland have entered into discussions with Ukraine in order to potentially lift their bans (see EUROPE 13255/16).
The European Commission has been working towards a mutual solution for several weeks through a coordination platform that includes Ukraine. The platform will meet again on Thursday, 28 September, and will examine the Ukrainian action plan to control grain exports.
The Czech minister of agriculture wants to go a step further with regard to grain transit: he has suggested a deposit system for sellers, under which the deposit would be returned once the grain left European countries. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)