Ukraine to sue Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over agricultural bans

Ukraine will sue Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over their refusal to drop a ban on Ukraine's agricultural products despite the EU's lifting of these restrictions.

This was announced by the Trade Representative of Ukraine in a comment to Politico.

"It is important to prove that these actions are legally wrong. And that’s why we will start legal proceedings tomorrow (September 18 - ed.)," Taras Kachka said.

Ukraine plans to sue countries in the World Trade Organisation, not through its own trade agreement with the EU.

"I think that all the world should see how member states in the EU behave towards trade partners and their own Union because it can influence other states as well," he added.

On May 2, the European Commission imposed an embargo on imports of certain agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU due to falling prices on the markets in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. Poland requested an extension of the embargo after its expiration.

On September 15, the European Commission did not extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain that had expired that day.

In response, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed internal restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. They justified this decision on the grounds of domestic interests.

At the same time, the Romanian government stated that it expects Ukraine to present an action plan on grain export controls. The government will decide how to proceed with the embargo on Ukrainian grain imports after reviewing the action plan. Ukraine is due to present it on September 18.

The Bulgarian parliament lifted the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain on September 14.