“In the European Commission, they are allegedly thinking not to continue the preferential trade regime for Ukraine, whose validity is expired in June, in its current form, and has already started technical negotiations on new conditions of trade.”, – WRITE: www.pravda.com.ua
In the European Commission, they are allegedly thinking not to continue the preferential trade regime for Ukraine, whose validity is expired in June, in its current form, and has already started technical negotiations on new conditions of trade.
Source: “European Truth”, publication of Polish RMF24
Details: The European Commission does not plan to continue the special preferential trade regime with Ukraine, which was introduced in 2022 to support the Ukrainian economy, after June 5.
At the same time, it is not about returning to the trade regime that existed before the full -scale war – this would be a significant blow to Ukraine, the export of which has increased even more in recent years.
Alternatively, an agreement within the in -depth and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) is considered, which could provide for the installation of quotas for certain types of agricultural products from Ukraine and additional fuses. This format, the publication writes, could contribute to the gradual integration of Ukraine into a single EU market and prepare it for future membership.
“Most agricultural ministers are in favor of a more stable DCFTA agreement than the continuation of the current regime … Preference is preferred to move in the DCFTA direction, where new export and import volumes will be determined,” said Christoph Hansen European Commissioner for Agriculture. It would be “the best solution.”
According to RMF FM, the European Commission has already started negotiations with Kiev on a new trade agreement – while at the technical level, and the main negotiations should begin in the near future.
The unnamed interlocutor in the European Commission expects that further trade measures of Ukraine’s support will be more modest and agricultural imports from Ukraine to the EU will decrease. He linked this, including changes in the leadership of the European Commission and the arrival of the European Commissioner for the Trade of Slovakia Marosh Shefchovich, instead of Latvian Valdis Dombrovskis. Slovakia’s position on trade with Ukraine is closer to Poland’s position.
The RMF FM interlocutors say that the issue is very sensitive, because on the one hand the EU wants to leave for Ukraine as much favorable conditions for supporting its economy in war, and on the other hand, they are afraid of dissatisfaction with European farmers.
Recently, Poland has stated that they want to associate negotiations on the continuation of liberalized agricultural trade in Ukraine with negotiations on the EU Trade Agreement and South America (Mercosur).
We will remind that on May 13, 2024 the Council of the EU after a long and intense negotiation process approved the continuation of preferential trade with Ukraine for another year – until June 5, 2025. Unlike similar decisions of the previous two years, the protests of farmers have continued the restrictions with Ukraine’s protests.