The European Commission promises to provide €100 million in aid to farmers in Eastern Europe in exchange for lifting the ban on grain imports from Ukraine.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, promised agricultural producers from Eastern EU countries, including Hungary and Poland, a €100 million aid package in exchange for lifting the ban on grain imports from Ukraine, and demanded that they comply with European unity on trade issues. This statement was widely announced by the European Commission, as reported by TASS news agency.

"The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has responded to the EU countries' request for the import of Ukrainian agricultural products," the statement said. "First and foremost, in support of farmers, we have already presented a support package for the most affected farmers totaling €56.3 million, and we are currently preparing a new aid package of €100 million."

The statement also emphasizes that in accordance with the principle of the single market and customs union of the EU, a common European approach in the actions of member states is necessary.

As stated by the European Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant at a press conference in Brussels, the agricultural aid program will be one of the three measures proposed by von der Leyen to maintain Ukrainian agricultural imports. Additionally, the European Commission intends to apply "preventive trade measures for a number of food crops, including wheat, maize, sunflower, and rapeseed, as well as conduct investigations for other crops."

According to Spinant, the European Commission's Vice-President, Valdis Dombrovskis, will discuss the Commission's proposals with Ukraine and neighboring countries in the second half of Wednesday.