MOSCOW, September 27 Ukraine will withdraw its claims to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against three EU countries only if it receives guarantees of no restrictions on grain exports in the future, said Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka.
«It is very important for us that the Polish side and other states and the European Union guarantee us that this kind of restrictions will not happen in the future… Therefore, of course, only when we receive guarantees will we formally announce to the whole world that this dispute has been settled. I think this issue will be considered last,» Kachka said on the Rada TV channel, commenting on the possibility of withdrawing claims at the WTO.
The Deputy Minister added that it is now important to launch a mechanism for coordination and verification of Ukrainian grain exports, since such a proposal has actually already been agreed upon by the European Union and member states. Ukraine considers such a mechanism acceptable. “The claims in the WTO, as we see from the reaction of our partners, were quite the right step. Because it outlined the nature of our indignation,” Kachka clarified.
On September 15, the European Commission decided not to extend restrictions on the import of four types of Ukrainian agricultural products into several EU border countries, but obliged Kyiv to introduce export control measures. After this, the authorities of Slovakia, Hungary and Poland announced that they were extending the ban unilaterally.
In particular, Hungary extended the ban on a national basis; 24 products were included in the list of prohibited imports. In addition to grains, the list included various types of meat, poultry, eggs, honey, vegetables and wine. In this regard, Ukraine filed a complaint with the WTO. In response, three EU countries announced that they would boycott meetings of the coordination platform on Ukrainian grain.