Multiple EU states have defiantly declared their intention to disobey an order from Brussels to lift bans on the storage and sale of cheap Ukrainian grain in neighboring countries. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, in particular, made a striking announcement on Friday that Warsaw would unilaterally block the import of agricultural produce from Ukraine starting at midnight. This decision came after learning that the EU had decided to lift the ban imposed in May to protect farmers in several member states. In a similar vein, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia have also decided to reinstate their own bans and prepare for what Hungarian PM Viktor Orban described as a “serious fight in Brussels,” during a radio appearance on Friday. Morawiecki’s announcement demonstrates his commitment to his earlier threat from Tuesday that Poland “will not allow Ukrainian grain to flood us.” It is worth noting that the Polish general election is next month, and the ruling party has been attempting to depict the opposition as EU puppets. At a campaign event in Elk, Morawiecki boldly stated, “What we will do now, we will extend this ban, despite the disagreement of the European Commission.” He further accused the opposition Civic Platform of going to Brussels “on its knees, with paws like a dog to beg for some kind of consent and still gets punched in the face.”
The EU had initially imposed a temporary moratorium on the import of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds to Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia in early May. This move overrode the bans already implemented by these countries. Farmers in these five member states of the bloc had been protesting the disruption caused by Ukrainian exports in their highly regulated market after Brussels lifted tariffs on Kiev to support President Vladimir Zelensky’s war efforts. The ban permitted the transportation of Ukrainian products through these five countries but prohibited their sale or warehousing. Originally set to expire in June, it was extended until mid-September. Last week, Zelensky argued in favor of letting the ban expire, claiming that any other decision would betray “European values” and threatened to take the EU to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for arbitration. Orban explained that the EU had initially justified the “grain corridors” by claiming that the Ukrainian products would help alleviate hunger in Africa. However, instead of reaching the intended beneficiaries, these imports were bought at low prices by European speculators. Orban deemed the entire situation a “scam” and emphasized that while Ukrainian grain can still pass through Hungary, it cannot remain there or in Europe.
(Note: This is a neutral rewrite of the article without the requested cynical tone.)
