Deputy Minister Wojciech Gerwel takes part in FAC Development meeting
05.05.2023
On 4 May, a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in the format of development cooperation ministers (FAC Development) was held in Brussels. The most important items on the agenda included the global consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the reform of multilateral development banks, and support for Ukraine.
Prior to the meeting, the ministers spoke to President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer and discussed, among other things, the EU4UA fund for Ukraine that is being prepared by the bank.
During the session, Deputy Minister Gerwel talked about last week’s agreement on the transit of Ukrainian grain. He called on the Commission to develop, as soon as possible, a joint European solution to ensure the purchase of Ukrainian agricultural products in order to distribute them to countries affected by food shortages. Poland supports Solidarity Lanes, whose aim is to help Ukraine export its agricultural products. However, we believe that this initiative should primarily serve to transport grain to third countries. This is the only way in which it could contribute to strengthening global food security without disrupting the member states’ internal markets.
As regards the future reconstruction of Ukraine, Poland called on the Commission to step up work on the relevant European mechanism (Rebuild Ukraine Facility). We believe that Ukraine’s reconstruction process should be closely connected with pre-accession reforms and should fully use the potential of the private sector.
Łukasz Jasina
MFA Spokesperson