Romania to ask EU to extend restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural imports until end of 2023
Florin Barbu, Acting Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, will ask the European Commission to extend the restrictions on grain imports from Ukraine until the end of the year.
Source: Euractiv, as reported by European Pravda
Quote: "The ban is until 15 September. I will have a discussion with my colleagues from other countries and we will ask for an extension until 31 December. In addition to the rapeseed, wheat, maize, sunflower, I will try to introduce up to 10 products," Barbu said during a parliamentary hearing.
Details: Honey and meat may be included in the list of import bans, as well as "other Romanian priorities, so that Romanian farmers can sell the local products".
On 2 May, the European Commission adopted exceptional and temporary precautionary measures against imports of a limited number of goods from Ukraine. These measures were necessary given the exceptional circumstances related to severe logistical problems in five EU member states.
The measures concern four agricultural products originating in Ukraine: wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds.
The European Commission said they aim to overcome the logistical problems associated with these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Background: On 5 June, the European Commission extended the ban until 15 September.
In an interview with Euractiv in late April, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said that the decision by several EU countries to ban Ukrainian grain exports could play into Russia's hands.
"The flow of Ukrainian agricultural exports is a matter of survival for the Ukrainian economy, which has been severely affected by Russia's full-scale aggression – so our common priority should be to continue the suspension of import duties, quotas and trade defence measures on Ukrainian exports to the EU," she added.
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