17.01.2024 13:09

Poland is negotiating with Ukraine regarding the introduction of licensing for the import of agricultural products.

According to RMF FM, Poland is discussing with Ukraine the possibility of introducing import licenses for Ukrainian grain, fruits, vegetables, poultry, eggs, and sugar. Last year, the European Commission proposed such a measure, and now the Polish government aims to introduce a new control measure - verifying the authenticity of Ukrainian licenses.

Brussels will agree to this on the condition of resolving the Polish-Ukrainian conflict, the publication reports.

However, as RMF FM reports, Ukraine is not yet in a hurry to compromise on the issue of licenses. Polish diplomats suspect that Kyiv may be waiting for the EU's decision on extending duty-free trade.

Confidence in maintaining duty-free imports from Ukraine to the EU will give Kyiv a stronger position in negotiations with Warsaw. Once the licenses are introduced, Poland will lift the current embargo on Ukrainian imports.

"The continuation of this situation could prompt the EC to initiate a procedure for violating EU legislation," said a European diplomat.

More liberal decisions are also included in the regulation to be adopted by Brussels next week. It will introduce a new provision for strengthening protective measures. Until now, emergency measures due to excessive import from Ukraine could only be applied in case of problems in the entire EU market. The new proposal allows their activation even in case of regional disruptions.

In such a case, the EC can introduce temporary trade restrictions against Ukraine for four months in two weeks. After that, the EC will conduct a detailed analysis.

Earlier, the Polish EU Commissioner appealed to the European Commission to protect the market from Ukrainian agro-imports.