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"We absolutely need to improve and strengthen the solidarity lanes, of course, without disturbing the markets of the frontline countries bordering Ukraine, and also Moldova, which has a very sensitive position," 11 WORLD 27.7.2023 THE EU's 'solidarity lanes' initiative to export Ukrainian grain via Europe- an routes could replace the Black Sea route after Russia's unilateral with- drawal from the UN-brokered deal, the bloc's agriculture chief said. Last week, Russia suspended its par- ticipation in the Black Sea Grain Initi- ative, a UN-backed agreement which facilitated the safe passage of 32 mil- lion tonnes of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea over the past year. The resulting situation was dis- cussed by the EU-27 agriculture min- isters on Tuesday (25 July) in their monthly gathering in Brussels. For the chair of the EU Agriculture Council, Spain's Agriculture Minis- ter Luis Planas, Russia's rejection to extend the Black Sea grain deal "un- doubtedly makes things complicated for the markets, especially for those depending enormously on Ukrainian exports such as Africa, Asia, and Lat- in America." However, according to EU Agri- culture Commissioner Janusz Wo- jciechowski, the solution is the soli- darity lanes – an initiative launched by the EU executive in May 2022 which established alternative logistics routes for Ukraine's exports using all relevant transport modes. "We are ready to export by solidarity lines almost everything that Ukraine needs to export," said the commis- sioner. From its launch at the end of May 2023, 37.4 million tonnes of grain, oil- seeds and other food products were exported from Ukraine via solidarity lanes, accounting for 55% of the total food exports. Solidarity lanes also allowed Ukraine to export 37.6 million tonnes of non-agricultural goods and to receive humanitarian aid, according to figures provided by the EU Council. For Wojciechowski, Ukraine's grain export need is projected to be around 4 million tonnes per month. "And we achieved this amount in the past," he said, adding that in Novem- ber 2022 almost 4 million tonnes of Ukraine's grain and oilseeds were ex- ported by solidarity lanes meeting 60% of Ukraine's export volume at the time. The Commissioner also told EU ministers that the bloc has the logistic capacity to help Ukraine replace the Black Sea route. "There is only one option: to use the solidarity lanes," he said. EU funds to cover 'transit' cost The increased imports of cereals and oilseeds coming from neighbouring Ukraine through solidarity lanes have raised concerns from European farm- ers who warned that large amounts of grain get stuck in border regions, where they crowd local producers out of the market. The Commission already put for- ward two controversial support pack- ages to compensate farmers in EU member states bordering Ukraine – including Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia – to help alle- viate the logistical bottlenecks caused by the success of the initiative. "We absolutely need to improve and strengthen the solidarity lanes, of course, without disturbing the mar- kets of the frontline countries border- ing Ukraine, and also Moldova, which has a very sensitive position," said Pla- nas in a press conference on Tuesday. On the sidelines of the Council meet- ing, Commissioner Wojciechowski met with ministers from the five frontline member states who raised the issue of the extra transit costs that makes goods exported through soli- darity lanes unattractive on the global market. "It'd be cheaper to buy grain from Russia than to pay for the grain from Ukraine transported through Poland or through Baltic ports," explained the EU's agriculture chief, as the op- erational costs of solidarity lanes are higher than Russia's – also consider- ing that there are no extra costs on agriculture commodities from Russia as food is excluded from the sanction list. For this reason, Wojciechowski is mulling some form of public support to cover the extra cost for the transit of these goods and will present a pro- posal to his fellow commissioners on how EU funds can cover it. However, nothing is currently on the table. "This is only my position for now," he told reporters, adding that, although it is a pressing issue, there are no deadlines for the presentation of such a proposal. According to an EU source, the fi- nancial cover for this proposal could come from the budget of the Commis- sion's transport service. EU must help cover cost of Ukrainian grain transit – European Commission member From its launch at the end of May 2023, 37.4 million tonnes of grain, oilseeds and other food products were exported from Ukraine via solidarity lanes

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