Ukraine is ready to fix the level of exports of eggs, chicken meat and sugar to Poland at the level of 2022-2023, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
“We have already introduced a verification and control mechanism for four groups of cereals on September 16. We are also ready to go in terms of setting the export level for eggs, chicken meat and sugar at the level of 2022-2023. These are quite large volumes. We are ready to fix them and move within these boundaries,” Shmygal said at the forum “Ukraine. Year 2024” on Sunday.
Prime Minister also said that representatives of the Ukrainian government were at the Ukrainian-Polish border on Friday and talked to Ukrainian carriers who were returning by grain carriers from Europe.
Commenting on the protests of Polish farmers on the Ukrainian-Polish border, the Prime Minister reminded that they were taking place against the background of Russia’s hybrid warfare in Europe. “This should not be forgotten. There is support for radical and pro-Russian political forces throughout the European Union, particularly in Poland. This leads to terrible things that we see when they pour out grain and act illegally,” he emphasized.
Shmygal noted that the Polish government and the police react to these violations adequately, and appropriate cases are initiated. The first violators have already been brought to court, they face up to five years in prison.
According to the prime minister, the Ukrainian government announced five steps to unblock the Ukrainian-Polish border, and also notified the European Commission about Ukraine’s proposed “plan of mutual understanding” with Poland. Now Ukraine will start implementing them jointly with the European Commission.
As reported, Ukraine on February 23 on the Ukrainian-Polish border announced five steps for the de-blockade of the border. In particular, Ukraine agreed to limit the entry of poultry meat, eggs and sugar to Poland and will export them to the EU without quotas and duties in volumes no more than the average in 2022 and 2023. In addition, Ukraine is ready to continue the mechanism of verification of exports of grain, corn, sunflower and rapeseed, which means that these four groups of goods will not enter the Polish market without Polish authorization.
The second step will be Ukraine’s appeal to the European Commission with a proposal to conduct urgent screening of clusters 4 and 5, which include agrarian policy and transportation.
The third step is a proposal to the Polish government to adopt a joint appeal to the European Commission to stop Russian agricultural exports to the EU.
The fourth step was the creation of a “Trilateral Headquarters: Ukraine, Poland, European Commission” co-chaired by the agrarian ministers of Ukraine, Poland and a representative of the European Commission.
The fifth step is to expand free passage across the border not only for ammunition and humanitarian aid, but also for Ukraine’s critically needed fuel.
