Five eastern members of the EU – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria – want the bloc-wide ban on imports of Ukrainian grain extended beyond the September 15 deadline that is in force now, agriculture ministers of the five countries said on July 19.

The ban currently in place covers imports of wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds. The five countries say the ban is necessary to protect home markets from the influx of cheaper Ukrainian produce that would depress prices.

What to do with the ban could become a flashpoint between the five countries and the European Commission again if the ban is not extended and the countries take unilateral action – which is what some of them said they will do.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pledged that Poland will maintain the restrictions regardless of the Commission’s decision.

"After September 15, either regulations will be worked out, or the government will implement them unilaterally," Morawiecki said in Warsaw, where the agriculture ministers met.

Hungary also said it would impose its own ban if there is no agreement on the EU level.

The current ban is the result of talks between the five “frontline” countries and the Commission after they had implemented national bans on Ukrainian grain imports, which went against the EU trade rules.

Following the agreement reached in May, the curbs became EU policy. 

The five countries will present their position during the EU’s agriculture and fisheries summit on July 25.