A delegation from the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, led by Chair Norbert Lins, will travel to the Polish-Ukrainian border on 20-21 June 2022.
During the visit, MEPs will visit the Medyka (rail) and Korczowa (road) border crossings to assess the import of Ukrainian agricultural commodities and the potential for alternative routes. The capacity for storing agricultural products will be the subject of an exchange of views between MEPs and Ukrainian business and trade representatives.
Ahead of the trip, Norbert Lins (EPP, DE) said:
Due to the Russian blockade of the Ukrainian Black Sea ports, grain exports have to be transported via road and rail. This is a huge infrastructural and bureaucratic challenge at the borders of Ukraine. The aim of this fact-finding mission at the Polish-Ukrainian border is to see what the problems on the spot are and where help from the European side could be provided very quickly and in an uncomplicated manner.
Lins will be joined by five other MEPs: Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, IT), Juozas Olekas (S&D, LT), Ulrike Müller (Renew, DE), Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, LU), Veronika Vrecionová (ECR, CZ).
Press conference
A press conference will take place on 21 June at 12:00 CEST at the conference room number 2 of Hotel Metropolitan, Juliusza Słowackiego 16, 35-001 Rzeszów.
The press conference will be in hybrid format. Journalists wishing to attend physically or who would like to request a link to connect remotely should contact the Press Officer at the European Parliament Office in Poland.
The press conference will be interpreted into and from English and Polish.
Background
On 24 March, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for food corridors to be established to and from Ukraine. On 12 May, the Commission published an Action Plan for EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes to facilitate Ukraine’s agricultural export and bilateral trade with the EU, which aims to restore commerce with Ukraine by resolving transport and administrative bottlenecks and redirecting flows towards alternative routes.