Members of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) quiz Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture on the Black Sea grain deal and market situation. Statement by Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair of AGRI. Extracts from the exchange of views.

EU - Ukraine (T)

Brussels

exchange of views

troubles in Ukraine (T)

Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development

WOJCIECHOWSKI, Janusz (ECR, PL, EC)

consequences of the war in Ukraine (T)

Black Sea grain deal and market situation: statement by Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair of AGRI; extracts from the exchange of views with Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/71926177/1693480065122_I245129Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

Exterior view of the European Parliament in Brussels

Arrival of Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture, to the meeting room

Introduction of Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair of AGRI Committee

SOUNDBITE (English), Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Ukraine has for export this year, there was a forecast with 48 billon tonnes of grain. Now, it's a new forecast, 56, which means that, for five millions tonnes per month Ukraine needs to exports. We know what it is the situation, the Black Sea is again blocked by Russia. Only one option, Solidarity Lanes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture, First of all, to support transit with Ukraine, to give options for Ukraine, to pay compensations for the companies for transport. 

SOUNDBITE (English), Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI, European Commissioner for Agriculture, The cost of this operation is not very high comparing to other alternatives and solutions. Because it is about the 30 euro per tonne. Using the 6 hundred million, Europe is possible to support export 20 millions tons of grain from Ukraine.

Images of the exchange of views on Black Sea grain deal and market situation (7 shots)

SOUNDBITE (English), Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair of AGRI Committee, It's not it's not easy to compensate in the the plexi corridor, but we have to try it. We know we are aware that the infrastructure in the European Union is not built to export all the Ukrainian grain. But a lot has been done in the past, in particular from the Romanian government and from the Romanian side, and there are ideas from Croatia, from the Baltic States. But it has to be done more. More political will and willingness within the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair of AGRI Committee, Now, we have difficulties that the grain was exported to the European Union, but it yeah, it ended. The final destinations were, not always, but often the neighbouring Member States of Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Norbert LINS (EPP, DE), Chair of AGRI Committee, With this idea of a destination, a guarantee or a destination formula, I hope that we can achieve or we can build a more trust in the neighbouring countries. The other idea is to support the logistic, to support the transport of grain when it is transported to third countries and there are ideas around to support a tonne of, for example, a tonne of wheat with &euro;30 and this could be an incentive for traders to export it, to export that grain to its third countries. But there, again, there has to be a political willingness to achieve this because in the European budget there is no money. So, this means we have to build a coalition of political willingness within the European Union, within the Member States, to help to get the grain out of Ukraine.