The president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has announced a new aid of 100 million euros for the countries bordering Ukraine, which are the most affected by the increase in imports of Ukrainian grain and cereals, an item that is added to the 56.3 million financed by the agricultural reserve for Bulgarian, Polish and Romanian farmers.
This was stated in a letter sent this Tuesday to the leaders of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, who had expressed their dissatisfaction with the volume of losses generated in their economies by what they consider to be an "excess" of imports of cereal from Ukraine.
These countries had asked the Community Executive to reintroduce tariffs to alleviate this situation, while, in parallel, Brussels is studying the legality of the temporary veto announced by Poland and Hungary on imports of grain and other agri-food products from Ukraine.
In this regard, the President of the Commission has warned that "unilateral" measures can only "play in favor of Ukraine's adversaries" and must not "erode the unwavering support" of the EU.
For this reason, he recalled that access to the EU market and solidarity pathways are "crucial" for Ukraine's resistance to Russia's war of aggression, while, now, the EU must address "specific unforeseen consequences of the unexpected increase in imports" of Ukrainian grain.
In this sense, he stressed that the European Commission reacted "immediately" to the increase in imports with financial support of 56.3 million euros for the most affected farmers, to which a second aid package of 100 million euros and a 200% co-financing rate for affected farmers, within the framework of a common European approach.
Likewise, Von der Leyen has advanced that Brussels will also adopt preventive safeguard measures, included in the regulation on autonomous trade measures and that, as Poland has requested, it will also initiate an investigation on other "sensitive" products.
Also this Wednesday, the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, will meet with representatives of Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, as well as with Ukrainian authorities, to discuss the current situation and the measures that the Commission has put on the table. .
