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Ukraine has formally protested to the Polish embassy and the European Union’s representative office in the country over food bans imposed by Poland and four other Eastern European nations.
Oleg Nikolenko, a representative for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, disclosed that the notes had been handed to the Polish embassy and the EU office on Friday.
Ukraine has denounced the imposition of trade restrictions on its agricultural products, calling them “totally unacceptable.”
“Such limitations, regardless of the reasons behind them, are not in line with the Ukraine-EU association agreement and the principles and norms of the EU single market,” Nikolenko said on social media.
He asserted that there is “ample legal evidence” to reinstate the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, and to facilitate transit to other countries.
In mid-April, Poland imposed a nationwide ban on Ukrainian food products in response to protests by Polish farmers. The farmers complained of depressed prices for their own produce, as well as difficulties in selling it. The government’s decision was met with widespread disapproval from the Ukrainian government and the European Union.
Poland and four other European nations have requested the European Union to impose restrictions on the import of Ukrainian food products, which could potentially result in the removal of similar bans that have been implemented in the respective countries.