Ukraine threatens legal action against several EU countries, including Romania

Ukraine threatens to bring the European Union before the World Trade Organization if Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia do not lift restrictions on the import of Ukrainian cereals, according to Politico.

According to the source, Taras Kachka, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economy known for his controversial statements, stated that this "systemic threat" to Ukraine's interests leaves the country with no other option.

"With all due respect and gratitude to Poland, if any restrictions are imposed after September 15, Ukraine will file a complaint against Poland and the EU with the World Trade Organization," Taras Kachka declared in an interview with Politico.

Ukraine's cereal exports, its main export resource, are currently banned from the markets of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia under an agreement reached with the European Commission earlier this year to protect farmers from an influx of cheaper Ukrainian imports. However, Kachka acknowledged that Ukraine has received support from neighboring countries in facilitating the transit of Ukrainian goods to Europe.

"We have received considerable support in ensuring better transit of goods through Poland and neighboring EU member states, especially from Poland and Hungary. In recent months, we have made significant progress in cooperation with Romania regarding the transportation of goods from Ukraine," Taras Kachka stated, according to the cited source.

• Poland maintains the restriction on Ukrainian cereals

Poland has announced that it will maintain restrictions on Ukrainian cereals, stating that opening the European market to Ukrainian products was a unilateral gesture of goodwill by the European Union, not a bilateral legal obligation.

"The opening of the European market to Ukrainian products was a unilateral gesture of goodwill by the Union, not a bilateral legal obligation," said Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a Member of the European Parliament from Poland's ruling Law and Justice Party. At the same time, he accused Kyiv of bad faith, stating that Ukraine uses the war as an excuse to pressure the European Union.

"Exemptions from customs duties for Ukrainian cereals in the EU are a unilateral privilege, limited in time and revocable, granted to Ukraine," said the Polish MEP. Meanwhile, the government in Kyiv insists on rejecting the request of EU neighboring states with Ukraine to extend restrictions on the import of some Ukrainian agricultural products, restrictions that expire on September 15.

"Ukraine is acting in bad faith on this issue, using the war to force the EU to permanently open its agricultural market and perpetuate this precedent indefinitely," added the MEP. Additionally, the European Union's Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, recently stated that the ban on cereal imports from Ukraine should be extended until the end of the year.