Pressure has been mounting on Brussels to work out a European Union-wide solution after Warsaw and Budapest announced bans on some imports from Ukraine at the weekend, with other countries in eastern Europe saying they are also considering action.

The Commission, which oversees trade policy in the 27-nation European Union, will take what it described as “preventative measures” for certain categories of grain and oil seeds – particularly, wheat, maize, sunflower seeds and rape seed.

Under EU rules, the European Union can limit the import of products into the whole or part of the bloc, while still allowing transit.

European trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis is set to discuss the plans later today with ministers from the affected countries – Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – as well as with Ukrainian counterparts.