On 15 September, the EU Commission lifted the previous ban on Ukrainian agricultural products. The ban was introduced on four categories of products on 2 May 2023 as a temporary measure “to avoid market distortions.”

That’s according to the press release of the EU Commission. It also says Ukraine has agreed to introduce any legal measures (including, for example, an export licensing system) within 30 days to avoid grain surges. Until then, Ukraine is to put in place from 16.09.2023 effective measures to control the export of 4 groups of goods in order to prevent any market distortions in the neighboring Member States.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen “for keeping her word and upholding the rules of the single market.”

At the same time, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia protested the move and said they would introduce a unilateral ban on Ukrainian agricultural exports.

Such a unilateral ban contradicts the EU rules as a single market and the association agreement between the EU and Ukraine. Previously, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine would be forced to turn to the arbitration of the WTO in case states bordering Ukraine introduce such measures, violating the principle of free trade.