By KYIV. Sept 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – There are no grounds for the European Commission to extend the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain to the member states of the European Union, said spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko.
“Tomorrow, September 15, the ban of the European Commission on the import of Ukrainian grain to the EU ends. There are no grounds for extending this decision. Five main reasons: 1. Ukraine and the European Union have created a common coordination platform, within which all reservations from some European countries have been worked out. 2. The export of Ukrainian agricultural products is not the reason for the destabilization of the European market. Despite the European Commission’s ban and the long absence of imports of Ukrainian grain, the problems of farmers in Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Hungary have not been resolved,” Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
The Foreign Ministry noted the need for the governments of these countries to find national solutions first of all, “and certainly not at the expense of restrictions for Ukraine.” “Brussels has a number of support tools for this,” the spokesperson added.
Nikolenko also pointed out that Bulgaria’s decision today to resume the import of Ukrainian grain “only confirms the groundlessness of unilateral restrictive measures.”
In addition, the ministry stressed that the artificial restriction of Ukrainian exports plays into the hands of the Russian Federation, Ukraine’s competitor in the world grain markets.
“There are no bans on the EU market for it [RF]. Reducing the supply of Ukrainian grain means that Russia can earn more money for the war against Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The spokesperson also added that the import ban is “in principle illegal” – it violates the Association agreement between Ukraine and the EU, as well as the principles and norms of the EU Single Market.
