The European Commission is considering the possibility of punishing Poland, which concerns Warsaw’s maintaining an embargo on the import of certain agricultural products.

According to reports from Politico, the European Commission is working on a new solution that will enable countries applying for membership in the European Union to enjoy some economic privileges before formally joining the European community.

The aim of the new solution is to accelerate the process of enlargement of the European Union without relaxing the accession criteria and without changing the existing rules for admitting new countries.

The main beneficiary of such a solution would be Ukraine, whose accession process has clearly stalled recently.

The European Commission sides with Ukraine, not Poland

Meanwhile, Brussels may take measures against Poland, precisely in the context of Ukraine’s situation. As European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said during a press conference on Thursday, the EU may initiate infringement proceedings against Warsaw. He pointed to the reason given by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary maintaining a ban on the import of selected agricultural products from Ukraine.

“We don’t rule out the possibility that additional steps will be necessary at some point, but at this stage we are continuing our involvement (in the talks) and will remain so for now,” Gill said.

The actions taken by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are a response to the influx of huge amounts of agricultural produce from Ukraine following the liberalization of trade with that country in 2022. The situation has led to a huge drop in prices and major problems for farmers.

The EU commission spokesman stressed that member states cannot introduce restrictions of this nature on their own.

“We call on the member states concerned to withdraw their unilateral measures and we will continue to work actively with them to achieve this. We do not believe that these measures, which threaten to fragment the single market, are justified,” Gill noted.