Polish President Andrzej Duda hopes for easing restrictions on the EU's imports of Ukraine's agricultural products, Interfax-Ukraine reported on June 28.
"I hope these decisions will be scaled down as quickly as possible to allow the freest possible trade," Duda said.
However, Poland's head of state noted that time is still needed to eliminate all negative impacts before normal trade relations can be restored.
"But above all, there are issues that need to be streamlined. It takes time, this time is necessary in order to avoid certain phenomena that have a very negative economic and social impact," Duda said at a press conference.
On May 2, the European Commission put in place a month-long ban on wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds to "alleviate logistical bottlenecks" related to these goods in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The ban was extended on June 5, set to expire by Sep. 15.
In exchange, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia pledged to cancel their unilateral limits on these and other products from Ukraine. They are still obligated to transport these products elsewhere.
Interfax-Ukraine cited Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky that the restrictions should not be extended past Sep. 15.
"We will see how everything will be unlocked, and dear Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) promised me personally that after the (Sep.) 15 there can be no continuation of the restrictions," Zelensky said.
This position is not supported by all the EU members in question, as Romania requested the EU Commission on June 14 to prolong the measures until the end of 2023.
Anastasiia Lapatina
