In a few days, the European Commission should decide whether to extend the ban on the import of grain from Ukraine

The head of the office of the European Commissioner for Trade, Michael Geger, submitted to the European Commission a proposal to extend restrictions on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine. Such a proposal is due to an analysis of the market situation, low prices, the impossibility of storing grain in countries neighboring Ukraine, and increasing exports from Ukraine to other EU countries, bypassing Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. The period until which it is proposed to extend the restrictions is not yet known.

The final decision rests with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, but the ban is likely to be extended, given the statements of the European Commissioners for Trade and Agriculture.

The five EU countries neighboring Ukraine, which initiated the import ban, have not yet reached an agreement on the need to extend the restrictions after September 15. Bulgaria, whose market is suffering from a sunflower shortage, is asking for the restrictions to be lifted, while Poland and Hungary are pushing for their extension and Romania is still undecided.

The Polish government on Tuesday voted to extend a ban on grain shipments from Ukraine beyond September 15, while Bulgaria's parliament decided to lift import restrictions "to ensure global food security and reaffirming solidarity with Ukraine." The governments of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia say that they will introduce a ban on the supply of Ukrainian agricultural products at the national level if the European Commission does not extend the current restrictions.

The authorities of Ukraine have repeatedly declared the inadmissibility of the extension of this ban, and are even going to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Brussels and the EU countries if they do not cancel the restrictions on Ukrainian exports after September 15, as this violates the Free Trade Agreement, which is in force between the EU and Ukraine since 2014, said Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka.