EU nations call for tougher EU controls on Ukrainian food import

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 May 22:57

A letter jointly written by the five member-states asked Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski to be more wary of the impact of Ukrainian imports.

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 6, 2019. (Reuters)

Five EU member states have submitted a resolution to strengthen controls on duty-free Ukrainian agricultural products in light of an oversupply of Ukainian products in the EU markets.

A letter jointly written by Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania asked Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski to be more wary of the impact of Ukrainian imports.

The five-member states said that measures agreed in April were insufficient and proposed that "exceptional and immediate preventive measures" be taken to force tougher restrictions on the inflow of a limited number of Ukrainian products.

Miriam Garcia Ferrer, the European Commision's trade and agriculture spokesperson, said that the letter has been received by the EU's executives.

The sale of four different Ukrainian products has been banned in the five countries from May 2 until early June.

These include the sale of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed.

The measure is intended to "ease logistical bottlenecks" but allows their circulation in other European markets.

In April, the European Commission is said to be studying a new package of assistance to mitigate the severe competition posed by duty-free Ukranian products, according to spokesperson Balazs Ujvaris.

The first farmer assistance package was employed back in March, whereby $61.2 million worth of financial compensation was allocated for Polish, Bulgarian, and Romanian farmers. Additionally, comparable sums of financial compensation are expected to be dedicated by the national governments once EC approves it.

In January, a delegation from some of Ukraine's neighboring countries, such as Poland, Hungary, and Romania, stressed that the negative impact of Ukrainian duty-free products must be fixed, citing the negative "impact on their farmers” competitiveness.

Other European countries have also been raising complaints recently regarding the tariff-free Ukrainian agri-food products flooding the EU market, as domestic producers and farmers are facing disadvantages and struggling to compete.