‘Hungary will maintain the ban on importing products from Ukraine’, – Hungarian Minister of Agriculture says

Hungary will maintain its ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products until there is a corresponding decision at the EU level.

This information stated by the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture, István Nagy.

“Hungary will fully maintain the national ban on the import of products from Ukraine until there is an appropriate international solution,” Nagy wrote on social media.

He also reported discussing the situation with the Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis.

“We agreed that Hungary should conclude a bilateral agreement with Ukraine, which would mean that the Ukrainian side would not send, and Hungary would not receive, grain,” Nagy told Hungarian journalists after the meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture and Fisheries.

Nagy emphasized that Hungary’s closure of its borders to Ukrainian grain could lead to disputes, but “the interests of Hungarian farmers come first.”

In late March 2023, five EU countries bordering Ukraine (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia) appealed to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to intervene in the crisis caused by the influx of grain from Ukraine.

The European Commission implemented temporary restrictive measures aimed at resolving logistical difficulties associated with these products in the bordering states. These measures came into effect on May 2 and were extended until September 15.

On September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of four agricultural products from Ukraine into several bordering EU countries. However, Kyiv was required to implement export control measures. Subsequently, the authorities of Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland announced that they would unilaterally extend the ban.

In particular, Hungary extended the ban on a national basis, including 24 prohibited products. In addition to grains, the list includes various types of meat, poultry, eggs, honey, vegetables, and wine. In response, Ukraine filed a complaint with the WTO. In return, three EU countries declared their intention to boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain.