EU Commission sets up 'solidarity lanes' to assist Ukraine in exporting agricultural goods

In a bid to help Ukraine in exporting its agricultural commodities, the European Commission has established ‘solidarity lanes.’ In the action plan, the EU Commission has urged EU market players to immediately make additional vehicles available to meet the demand and supply requirements. The EU Commission has stated that 20 million tonnes of grain remain stranded in Ukraine as transport routes have been blocked by Russia.

According to the statement released by EU Commission, the Russian military offensive in Ukraine and the Kremlin's blockade of ports have resulted in Ukraine's grain and other agricultural goods not reaching their destination. The EU Commission asserted that the situation has been jeopardising global security and called for the need to set up alternate logistics routes to make use of all transport modes. The plan outlined by EU Commission to help Ukraine in exporting grains includes additional freight rolling stock, vessels and lorries as well as the prioritisation of Ukrainian agricultural export shipments on borders, the flexibility of customs operations and other inspections. In addition, EU Commission will assess available storage and cooperate with member states to ensure more capacity for the temporary storage of Ukrainian exports in the European Union territory. Furthermore, the EU Commission will work on increasing the infrastructure capacity of new export corridors and developing new infrastructure connections in the framework of the reconstruction of Ukraine. 

Adina Valean calls for introducing new routes 

Adina Valean, the EU Commissioner for Transport, in the statement, asserted that 20 million tonnes of grains need to be moved from Ukraine in less than three months using the EU infrastructure. Calling it a "gigantesque challenge," Adina Valean said that it is essential to optimise the logistic chains and introduce new routes and avoid bottlenecks as much as possible. She emphasized that their communication addresses the emergency solutions and integrates Ukraine's infrastructure with the European Union. The development comes as several leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have expressed concern over Russia's blockade of the Black Sea. Zelenskyy, in his address on Saturday, 14 May, called on the international community to support Ukraine in order to prevent global famine. Zelenskyy urged countries to provide them with weapons so that they can liberate their country "sooner."

Image: AP