EU urges three countries to lift restrictions on Ukrainian farm exports

The European Commission has said it has begun preparations to hold talks with the governments of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland after an upgraded trade arrangement with Ukraine came into force on 29 October 2025. The Commission is set to persuade the countries to lift unilateral bans on the import of certain Ukrainian agricultural products.

The EU wants Hungary, Slovakia and Poland to remove their unilateral restrictions on imports of certain Ukrainian agricultural goods on the grounds that the new agreement provides for balanced trade conditions.

"So, to be very clear, this week the upgraded EU-Ukraine deep and comprehensive free trade agreement, the DCFTA, entered into force. We believe that upgraded DCFTA strikes the right balance between offering the vital economic lifeline of good trading conditions to Ukraine and, on the other hand, offering robust and appropriate protections to our sensitive economic sectors here in the EU, notably certain agri-food sectors," Olof Gill, European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson, said.

He added that Brussels believes that the new arrangement has struck the appropriate balance.

"We do not believe there is any justification to prolong the export bans… Based on that conviction, we will now engage with the aforementioned member states with a view to getting them to remove those bans.

That's the only thing we're going to focus on at the moment and that is our first priority," he added.

When asked whether the Commission is considering legal steps to compel the three states to drop their restrictions, Gill noted that the Commission "will consider all other options only when those talks don't lead to a desired conclusion".

Ukraine's Office of the President earlier said that it expects a swift and adequate response from the European Commission should individual countries extend unilateral curbs on Ukrainian agricultural exports.

Kyiv insists that the principles of the EU single market and the provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement cannot be breached under any circumstances and Ukraine reserves the right to choose legal instruments to respond.

On 25 August 2023, Robert Telus, Polish Minister of Agriculture, said that five EU member states had agreed to demand an extension of the ban on Ukrainian grain imports.

Ukraine has remained firm that the EU must remove unilateral barriers to Ukrainian exports.