Slovakia followed Poland and Hungary, both of which announced bans on Saturday on Ukrainian food imports through June 30. They did so in response to rising anger from farmers who say a glut of grain in their countries is causing them economic hardship.
The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, manages trade on behalf of the 27 member countries and objects to them taking unilateral or uncoordinated measures.
At a briefing in Brussels, two spokespeople stressed gratitude to Poland and other Central European countries for supporting Ukraine, but said a solution must be found that respects the EU legal framework. “We are dealing with a war, right? And this war has consequences, obviously, on farmers and more generally, the population in Ukraine and EU and its members,” said chief spokesman Eric Mamer.
Five EU countries that neighbour Ukraine have asked the EU to treat the matter of Ukrainian food with urgency. Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia argue that they can’t allow their own farmers to bear the cost of disruption Ukrainian grain and other agriculture products are causing to their markets. Bulgaria is reportedly mulling a similar ban. The Czech Republic says it’s not.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Ukrainian officials visited Warsaw on Monday for government consultations on the issue. Poland faces an election in the fall and farmer groups have been piling pressure on the government with frequent protests lately. Hungary’s agriculture minister, Istvan Nagy, said the surge in Ukrainian products on European markets had made it “impossible” for Hungarian farmers to remain competitive.
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