Romania's position on food imports from Ukraine is aimed both at protecting Romanian farmers and at maintaining support for neighboring Ukraine, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported, quoted by the Agerpres agency, BTA reports.
„Romania has a consistent position on the topic of trade relations between the EU and Ukraine, including the import of agricultural products. It includes the addition of safeguard clauses and quality standards in the text of the revised EU-Ukraine trade agreement“, said an official statement from the Romanian Foreign Ministry.
The impact of the war in Ukraine on agriculture and its impact on the EU internal market will be discussed at the meeting of the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council, scheduled for July 14. In this regard, the Romanian Ministers of Agriculture, Economy and Foreign Affairs are holding coordinated discussions to defend national interests.
“Romania's position has already been stated within COREPER (Committee of Permanent Representatives) as part of the preparations for the upcoming meeting. It is balanced and combines multiple sectoral interests, protecting agricultural producers without interrupting support for Ukraine“, the MFA added.
Earlier this week, the agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Romania signed a joint declaration in Budapest on changes to the EU-Ukraine trade agreement. It expresses concern about increased quotas for products such as honey, eggs, sugar and the liberalization of the dairy market.
The five countries called on the European Commission to introduce automatically applicable regional safeguard mechanisms based on individual quotas and minimum import prices to avoid dumping of Ukrainian goods. They also proposed the creation of a special compensation fund for farmers in the event of excessive imports in the future.
The ministers stressed that they continue to support Ukraine and its trade with the EU, but oppose the economic damage suffered by farmers in border countries.
In early 2024, farmers in a number of European countries, including Romania, organized mass protests against the low prices of Ukrainian imports. After the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, the EU lifted most restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports to help the country economically, after many of its traditional trade routes were blocked.