POLITICO: 12 countries blast Ukraine grain agreement

In a letter sent to the European Commission, ministers from 12 countries raised "serious concerns” about a deal they said "undermines the integrity of the EU internal market,” reported from POLITICO.

In April, five countries bordering Ukraine banned grain imports from the war-struck nation. The Commission responded with a proposal to deliver €100 million in aid for farmers in those countries, as well as a temporary ban on Ukrainian imports to them, unless it’s for transit to other nations. Yet no sooner had the deal been struck than it started to unravel. Poland led calls to distribute the glut of grain in the form of humanitarian aid — but officials responded that it wasn’t fit for human consumption.

Now, 12 countries — France, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Luxembourg, Estonia, Denmark and Slovenia — are calling for urgent "clarification” of the deal, which they say the Commission made "without consulting member states.”

The concerns focus on how the deal relates to the "rules and operation” of the EU’s internal market and the EU’s obligations toward Ukraine and Kyiv’s association agreement with the bloc. It calls for further discussion with countries to explain how and why the €100 million was granted.

"We urge the Commission to return to a transparent procedure along established rules within the functioning of the EU and its member states,” the letter states.

"This is also clearly intended to send a signal to Poland and its band of brothers that the rest of Europe has had enough of their double standards when it comes to solidarity with Ukraine. You can’t have your grain and eat it,” an EU diplomat wrote to POLITICO.

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