Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia staged a boycott of the European Commission following threats from Kyiv

Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia have decided to boycott the coordination platform for Ukrainian grain in Brussels.

This information was reported by the PAP agency, citing a source within the European Union.

“Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia are withdrawing from participation in the platform out of caution and due to the fact that Ukraine could potentially use the information provided within the coordination platform against these three countries during WTO proceedings,” the publication states.

Today, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economy, Taras Kachka, announced the country’s plans to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against these three neighboring countries. According to him, the Ukrainian authorities will seek to demonstrate that the actions of Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary are unjust.

Last Friday, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of four types of Ukrainian agricultural products into several EU bordering states. However, the Commission did require Ukraine to implement measures for export control.

Shortly after this decision, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary unilaterally imposed an embargo on Ukrainian grain.

In particular, Budapest extended the ban on a national basis, including 24 products on the list of banned imports. In addition to cereals, various types of meat, poultry, eggs, honey, vegetables, and wine were included.

At the end of March this year, five EU countries bordering Ukraine (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia) appealed to the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking her to intervene in the crisis caused by the influx of grain from Ukraine. The European Commission adopted temporary restrictive measures aimed at resolving logistical difficulties related to these products in the bordering states of the union. They came into effect on May 2, and in June, they were extended until September 15.

The restrictions imply that Ukrainian-origin wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds can still be freely circulated in all EU countries, except for the five bordering states. At the same time, these countries committed to rescind their unilateral measures against agricultural products supplied by Kyiv.