Today Ukraine will present proposals to stabilize grain exports to the EU, – European Commission

Today, on September 18, a regular meeting of the Coordination Platform under the auspices of the European Commission will be held in Brussels with the participation of 5 countries to which Ukraine’s grain exports were temporarily restricted. At this meeting, Kyiv will present an action plan to stabilize grain exports to the EU.

This was stated by Miriam Garcia Ferrer, spokesperson for the European Commission on Agriculture and Trade, during a briefing in Brussels.

“In accordance with the agreement we reached with Ukraine, it will apply the export control system (for grain – Ed.) within the next 30 days, but it is also ready to take concrete actions starting from September 16, i.e. last Saturday, to avoid market disruptions due to the export of these products to the European Union. We will have the next meeting of the Coordination Platform this afternoon. Ukraine will present the measures they will take in accordance with the action plan,” said the European Commission spokesperson.

She noted that the decision not to extend the restrictive measures on Ukrainian food exports to five EU countries neighboring Ukraine was made last Friday after a thorough study of all data on trade in these goods and after a careful analysis of the market situation. Following the work of the Coordination Council, which held its 9th meeting on Friday, the European Commission concluded that the extension of temporary restrictive measures against Ukrainian grain exports is no longer necessary.

According to Ferrer, the joint work within the Coordination Platform has successfully increased trade volumes through the EU’s “solidarity corridors” and solved specific logistical problems. As a result, Ukrainian food exports to third countries have continued and even increased.

“Regarding the announcements we heard over the weekend about the introduction of measures by three countries, we cannot comment on them at this stage. We are still analyzing these measures. But we insist that the main focus now should be on the fact that the system announced last Friday will work, and we will be able to constructively engage in this work, as we have already done within the coordination platform. The European Commission will continue to monitor the situation,” the spokesperson said.

She refrained from commenting on Ukraine’s intentions to challenge the actions of the three EU member states in the WTO, as this is currently a hypothetical scenario. Instead, she said, all parties should constructively engage in finding mutually acceptable solutions within the Coordination Platform.

As reported, on September 15, the European Commission refused to extend the temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed to five EU countries neighboring Ukraine.

At the same time, the European Commission said in a statement that Ukraine has agreed to introduce certain legal measures (e.g., an export licensing system) within 30 days to avoid sudden spikes in grain exports. Ukraine has to submit a corresponding action plan no later than September 18.

Tags: Ukraine, export, grain, EU, restrictions