According to the Ukrainian trade leader, the open defiance of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia with Brussels is not only an internal matter of the EU.
Ukraine's representative for trade, Tarasz Kacska, announced that Kiev will sue Poland, Hungary and Slovakia for their refusal to lift the import ban on Ukrainian agricultural products.
The ban imposed by the three Central European countries aims to protect their farmers from the influx of Ukrainian grain into their markets after Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
It is important to prove that these measures are legally wrong. That is why we are starting the legal process - said Kacska on Sunday evening, adding that Kiev is preparing to retaliate in fruit and vegetable exports as well.
Ukraiński wiceminister do polskich rolników: "Zakaz nie rozwiąże waszych problems" - WP Wiadomości https://t.co/luooWSz1lL
— Taras Kachka (@taraskachka) September 14, 2023
The three countries took action against the European Commission after the organization decided last Friday to allow the sale of Ukrainian grain in the EU. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia announced that they would introduce their own ban on Ukrainian grain.
In our eyes, these measures of Hungary and Poland represent a complete mistrust of the European Commission, said Ukraine's trade leader. Kacska believed that the open defiance of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia with Brussels is not only an internal matter of the EU.
"For many years, it was the European Commission that was the trade policy institution of the entire union. And we worked with them on this basis. The systemic approach of Budapest and Warsaw, according to which they ignore the position of the EU institutions in trade policy, I think will be a problem for the EU in general", Kacska added, and then declared that Kiev would sue the countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO), because his claim the whole world should see how EU member states behave towards trading partners.
While Slovakia simply extended the EU's previous ban on four types of grain, Poland imposed an additional ban on Ukrainian flour and feed over the weekend.
According to Kacska, Hungary is going even further and has banned the import of another 25 products that were not mentioned before.
"These arbitrary bans are ridiculous. I think that Hungary is making a political statement here, wants to block trade with Ukraine, and also completely ignores Brussels," said the politician, who said that while Hungary's further bans are mostly symbolic, given that Ukraine does not export a lot of beef or pork into the country, until then the Polish measures affect a significant part of Ukrainian exports.
