Three European Union countries — Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia — continue to maintain unilateral restrictions on imports of certain Ukrainian agricultural products despite repeated calls from the European Commission to remove such measures. The restrictions contradict the provisions of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement between Ukraine and the EU.
According to EU officials, the reasons behind maintaining these bans are largely political. At the same time, the updated trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU already includes safeguard mechanisms designed to address excessive imports without introducing separate national restrictions. Brussels insists that trade regulation should remain part of the EU’s unified trade policy rather than individual state decisions.
The dispute over Ukrainian agricultural exports has continued since 2023 and intensified after increased shipments of grain, corn, and oilseeds to Central European countries. Farmers in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia repeatedly argued that lower-priced Ukrainian products were putting pressure on domestic markets and demanded stronger protection for local producers. These concerns became the basis for temporary import restrictions and repeated farmer protests.
At the same time, some EU countries have already shifted toward compromise-based regulation models. Romania and Bulgaria abandoned direct bans and now operate under an import licensing system coordinated with Ukraine and the European Commission. Analysts believe that continued unilateral restrictions could negatively affect the stability of Ukrainian agricultural exports and complicate negotiations regarding Ukraine’s future integration into the EU single market.