Mateusz Morawiecki made the declaration in the northeastern city of Ełk on Friday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The prime minister said: “I have just learned that the EU’s restrictive measures, the ban on imports, has been lifted.”
He added: “We’ll extend the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain. We won’t listen to Berlin, [European Commission President Ursula] von der Leyen or [Poland’s main opposition leader Donald] Tusk. We’ll do it because it is in the interests of Polish farmers.”
Earlier in the day, the European Commission announced that it would not prolong the EU's ban on the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower and sunflower oil from Ukraine to Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
“Existing measures will expire today,” Brussels said.
The European Commission added that “Ukraine has agreed to introduce any legal measures," including an export licensing system, "within 30 days to avoid grain surges.”
Moreover, Ukraine is expected to put in place "effective measures to control the export of four groups of goods in order to prevent any market distortions" in neighbouring EU member states, officials said.
The European Commission said it was letting the restrictive measures expire because “the market distortions in the five member states bordering Ukraine have disappeared" since the embargo was imposed on May 2, the PAP news agency reported.
The EU ban on the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower and sunflower oil from Ukraine to Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia was initially effective until June 5. It was later extended until September 15.
The transit of Ukrainian grain through these five “near-frontline” countries remained allowed, the PAP news agency reported.
On Tuesday, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced that “after September 15, Poland will maintain the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.”
He added: “This embargo will remain in place. We won’t allow the Ukrainian grain to destabilise the Polish countryside.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Kyiv would seek arbitration from the World Trade Organisation if Poland extended the ban on Ukrainian grain, according to news outlets.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Friday is day 569 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Politico, ec.europa.eu