The EC promised the EU countries 100 million euros for lifting the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain

The European Commission (EC) will offer financial support in the amount of 100 million euros for farmers in Eastern Europe affected by the import of Ukrainian grain. This proposal was made by the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, in a response letter to the governments of five EU countries, EC representative Dana Spinant said at a briefing.

“You remember that we have already provided a support package of 56.3 million euros for the most affected farmers, and now we are preparing a second financial support package of 100 million euros,” she said (quote by La Stampa).

The authorities also intend to take preventive measures for certain categories of cereals, primarily wheat, sunflower and rapeseed. In addition, the EC will conduct a study on other products.

30 January on the website of the Council of Europe was published report, which noted that due to simplified exports, the supply of Ukrainian products to neighboring countries increased in some cases by thousands of times, which led to overcrowding of warehouses and difficulties for local producers. The document was prepared by Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

At the end of March, the EC sent support to farmers in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria in the amount of 56 million euros from the reserve fund of the EU agricultural subsidies program. However, this measure was not enough. In mid-April Hungary, Poland and Slovakia restricted import of Ukrainian grain. Similar plans were announced by the authorities of Bulgaria and Romania. The European Commission called this decision unacceptable. April 18 Ukraine and Poland Deal about unblocking the transit of Ukrainian grain on the night of April 21-22.