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The Agriculture ministers from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia will ask the European Commission to extend trade curbs for a wider list of Ukrainian products, at least until the end of this year, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said as cited in a ministry release.
Florin Barbu joined on Wednesday the Agriculture ministers from Poland, Bulgaria (online), Hungary and Slovakia in a meeting in Warsaw that also saw the participation of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The main topic of the meeting concerned the situation on agricultural markets as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and potential measures to ensure fair rules for the farmers in EU member states and candidate countries. The participants sought a common approach to the problems faced by farmers in these states, which will be also presented and backed at the next AgriFish Council meeting.
"It is obvious to all of us that we are united in further supporting Ukraine to resist the absurd war started by Russia. We are part of the European Union and we are determined to continue helping Ukraine to move its output to its outlet markets. At the same time, we are determined to support our farmers to properly capitalize on their production and the results of their work, to ensure food security for all of us. Romanian farmers were severely impacted by the war in Ukraine, just like the farmers in the states close to the conflict," said Florin Barbu.
At the end of the meeting in Warsaw, the officials signed a joint declaration regarding the need to extend the EU ban on imports of wheat, corn, rape and sunflower seeds originating from Ukraine.
In a common stance, the five Agriculture ministers show that these preventive measures, which have been in force since May of this year, have helped alleviate the pressure on local markets, while allowing the transit of Ukrainian goods towards traditional markets in non-EU countries.
At the same time, they specified that work is being done within the Common Coordination Platform to improve transit via the respective countries and identify new transport channels through the EU.
The joint declaration is signed by Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Kiril Vatev, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy, Polish Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Robert Telus, Romanian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Florin - Ionut Barbu, and Slovak Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Jozef Bires. AGERPRES
