The “brake” would be used to stop duty-free imports rising beyond the average volumes of 2022 and 2023.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, in Brussels for talks with EU leaders, called the overnight deal a “very good decision”.European Parliament rapporteur Sandra Kalniete said the accord “reinforces the EU’s continued commitment to stand by Ukraine” in the face of the Russian invasion.She said it also “bolstered safeguard measures that would alleviate the pressure on EU farmers should they be overwhelmed by a sudden surge in Ukrainian imports”.Wheat and barley will not be subject to import safeguards, a decision that triggered an angry response from farmer groups that said this was a key demand.Farmers’ discontent Polish farmers have been blocking checkpoints with Ukraine in anger at imports from their war-torn neighbour, and this week expanded their protests to the western border with Germany.Member states had signed off last month on an initial European Commission plan for narrower safeguards, but the EU parliament subsequently called for cereals and honey to be included, prompting a new round of negotiations.France in particular was pushing for caps on wheat, and its Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau called the overnight deal “insufficient.””The work continues,” he said. “This is not the end of the process.”The agreement has yet to be formally adopted by EU member states, and by EU lawmakers meeting in late April, with a view to having it come into force on June 6.Christiane Lambert of the powerful Copa-Cogeca European farmers’ association said the deal as stands “does not answer the concerns of producers and therefore remains unacceptable”.Copa-Cogeca was also pushing for curbs on duty-free wheat as well as for the safeguard reference period to be extended to include 2021 — when imports were lower.The European Parliament statement said lawmakers “attained firm commitments from the (European) Commission to take action if there is a surge of Ukrainian imports of wheat”.
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