Five EU countries call on Brussels to buy Ukrainian grain they have accumulated
Leaders of five European Union member states that facilitate the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products to third countries have called on the EU to take action in response to the glut that has arisen because goods are not reaching their destinations.
Source: Associated Press; European Pravda
Details: On Friday, prime ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria sent a letter to the European Commission and its President Ursula von der Leyen, noting that the channels intended to deliver Ukrainian products to their destinations are not working as expected.
They appealed to Brussels to consider the possibility of urgent purchases of surplus products by the 27 member states of the Union, as well as to allocate funds for the rapid development of transport and warehouse infrastructure.
They noted that the inflow of "grain, oilseeds, eggs, poultry, sugar, apple juice, apples, berries, flour, honey, and noodles" was particularly unprecedented.
"We call on the Commission to analyse the possibility of purchasing surplus grain from member states (bordering Ukraine). We also renew our call for financial support from the EU for the needs of faster development of transport infrastructure," the prime ministers said in their letter.
The governments of these countries are facing pressure and protests from farmers concerned about falling prices and a lack of storage facilities for this year's harvest due to an overabundance of Ukrainian produce.
Bulgarian farmers staged a blockade of border crossings this week, while Poland's prime minister on Wednesday promised financial and infrastructure aid after hours of talks with farmers' organizations.
Background:
The European Commission has stated that it intends to extend the so-called solidarity routes for grain imports from Ukraine, but will take into account the concerns of countries whose farmers have been negatively affected by this decision.
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