Last week, the European Commission proposed measures of emergency in relation to wheat, maize and sunflower seeds, as well as sunflower oil, after certain central European countries unilaterally banned imports from Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of February 2022 forced Ukraine to abandon its Black Sea ports and export grain through Bulgaria, Hungary Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

The European Agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski stated that the transit agreement would only cover five products, representing 80-90% imports, and not eight other products, such as honey, poultry, or milk, which Ukraine’s neighbors have also proposed.

He told a press conference following a meeting in Luxembourg of the agriculture ministers that he believed they were very, very near to a good agreement. Other EU countries appeared to also support the plan.

The Commission is in negotiations with the five countries. Wojciechowski stated that the EU executive is presenting data in order to show the exact impact of agricultural imports.

Wojciechowski — a Polish man — said that his discussions with Poland’s Agriculture Minister on Tuesday revealed their very close positions.

He said that Poland was the leader of these five countries and they were very close to finding a solution.

The proposal would require the five countries to ensure that Ukrainian grain can be transported through their country and would compensate their farmers with €100 million in EU funds.

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