The Hungarian ban on the import of approximately 20 categories of agri-food products from Ukraine is still in force. This was confirmed by the new Hungarian Prime Minister, Peter Magyar, in an entry on the X platform. After his party took over the government, the previous regulations introduced by Viktor Orban's government expired. — The sanctions were canceled due to a legislative error, said a government spokesman in an interview with the Euractiv portal. He added that Prime Minister Peter Magyar's cabinet had taken “urgent measures” to quickly reinstate the ban.
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Ban on import from Ukraine to Hungary. 20 product categories
The ban on imports from Ukraine covers approximately 20 categories of agri-food products. Applies to, among others: beef, pork, sheep and goat meat, poultry, eggs, honey, vegetables, wheat, rye, barley, corn, etc.
The restrictions were imposed by Viktor Orban's government in 2023. (Poland and Slovakia also imposed similar measures) and were maintained despite repeated warnings from the European Commission. This is one of many so-called emergency laws of the Orban government, which expired on May 14. A spokesman tells Euractiv that the new parliament had to review almost 1,000 decrees to prevent their expiration.
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Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Szabolcs Bona says protecting the local economy is now the government's top priority. He added that neither Ukrainian nor other imported goods should pose a threat to Hungarian farmers.
As Euractiv reminds, the import ban violates EU law, because trade policy is the exclusive responsibility of Brussels. However, the European Commission has so far refrained from taking legal action. Karin Karlsbro, MEP dealing with, among others, international trade, said in an interview with the portal that Hungary's maintenance of the “illegal import ban” is “deeply regrettable.” She added that the European Parliament has long been calling on the EC to take a more decisive position on this matter.
Data from the Hungarian National Office for Food Chain Safety (Nébih) show that between May 18 and 20, after the formal expiry of previous restrictions, six food shipments from Ukraine were recorded.
These included four shipments of white sugar totaling 91 tonnes – a product that was not subject to the previous ban – and two shipments of processed cereals.
