Ukraine has filed a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization against Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, due to their bans on food imports from Kiev. This country has said that such restrictions violate the international obligations of Ukraine’s European neighbors.
On the other hand, these European Union countries have said that the bans are necessary to protect farmers from cheap imports. Russia’s war in Ukraine, launched last year, has made it impossible to transport Ukrainian goods through the Black Sea, and large quantities of grain have ended up in central Europe.
“It is deeply important for us to prove that individual countries cannot ban imports of Ukrainian goods,” said Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
“For this reason, we are starting a lawsuit against Slovakia, Poland and Hungary in the World Trade Organization.” She said that Ukrainian exports “have only been damaged and continue to be damaged” by the unilateral bans. Poland has said it will continue the ban, despite the lawsuit. “We maintain our position, we think it is right, it results from the economic analysis that emerges from the EU and international law”, said the spokesperson of the Polish Government, Piotr Mueller.
On Friday of last week, the European Commission has decided not to continue a ban – for which compliance was reached earlier in the year – for the circulation of Ukrainian imports in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The Commission has mentioned that the countries cannot make individual decisions about the policy of the European bloc with 27 members.
However, the governments in Budapest, Warsaw and Bratislava have challenged the decision. The war in Ukraine started on February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a “special military operation” to demilitarize Ukraine. The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions. As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./REL
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