Romanian Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said he had asked the European Commission to restrict imports of poultry meat products from Ukraine at the request of Romanian producers.

The Minister supported Bulgaria's proposal to restrict imports of eggs from Ukraine at a meeting of the Council of the European Union on 23 September this year, in order to protect European farmers from the dumping prices charged by Ukraine.

„The European Commission must intervene on Ukrainian imports of eggs and poultrymeat because our farmers are subjected to certain conditions in the poultry sector that impose much higher costs than farmers outside the EU“," said Mr Barbu.

He added that he expects quick decisions from the EC, but that he is ready to use the import licensing mechanism if necessary, which we have already successfully used for imports of cereals, sugar and flour.

The EU lifted restrictions on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine following Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

However, in the latest extension in spring 2024, the EU created a safeguard mechanism to restrict free trade if it threatened European producers. In June, this mechanism was applied for the first time and was limited to Ukrainian oats; it was later extended to eggs and sugar. On 21 August, the EU launched a safeguard mechanism for Ukrainian honey, which will apply to all further imports of this product until the beginning of June 2025.