'It's premature to discuss prolongation of preventive measures' on agri-food imports from Ukraine - EC
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At the moment, it is premature to raise the question of the need to continue preventive measures against the import of agricultural products from Ukraine after September 15, states the spokesperson of the European Commission, Balazs Ujvari during a briefing.
"Currently, any call for the prolongation of the preventive measures beyond September 15, in our point of view, is premature. We believe that we have to give time to the platform to work," Ujvari said.
The spokesperson noted that the special coordination platform, which includes Ukraine and other neighboring countries, as well as Moldova, held its sixth meeting today, August 17, the results of which will be known soon.
Ujvari added that within the framework of the platform's work, "good initial results" have been achieved, ranging from deepening trust and information exchange to the development and implementation of specific measures to address logistical bottlenecks and increase capacity through the Danube route and the Baltic or Adriatic corridors.
Restrictions on the import of Ukrainian agriproducts
In April, Poland announced a ban on importing food from Ukraine despite the EU's decision to grant free access to Ukrainian products during the war. After some time, the European Commission approved the ban on the import of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds to the aforementioned countries, as well as Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
The ban is in effect until September 15. However, Poland insists on an extension at least until the end of 2023.
