The European Commission has called for the lifting of the ban on agricultural imports from Ukraine
The European Union is insisting that Hungary and other member states urgently lift the unilateral restrictions imposed on Ukrainian agricultural products.
This was reported by Glavkom, citing European Commission spokesperson Tom Renier.
Brussels has called the actions of Budapest and other countries unfounded and unjustified, since the updated free trade agreement already contains all necessary safeguard mechanisms. According to the spokesperson, such steps pose a threat of fragmentation to the single European market.
The updated Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement between the European Union and Ukraine already provides European farmers with robust protection. It contains a special safeguard clause that is automatically triggered if additional imports from Ukraine cause serious economic difficulties for the EU as a whole or for individual countries. Given the strength of these tools, the European Commission does not consider national bans necessary and is calling for their repeal. At present, Brussels is focused on outreach and negotiations, and therefore refrains from announcing specific legal or punitive sanctions against violators of single market rules.
In Hungary, the emergency restrictions that banned the import of certain Ukrainian agricultural products, particularly grain and meat, have expired. Following this, some of the temporary measures were converted into permanent laws; however, key restrictions on Ukrainian goods were not included in the new package.
