Some European Union (EU) countries, including Poland and France, are against the extension of concessions for supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU, which will cease to apply on June 5, the European publication Politico reported, citing its sources.
“There is no place for Ukraine in the EU until it brings its agricultural standards into line with our rules. We cannot liberalize trade right now“, an unnamed Polish official told the publication.
According to Politico, the EU may not extend the concessions amid protests by farmers in the union, as European products are becoming uncompetitive due to the cheapness of Ukrainian goods. In general, imports of agricultural products from Ukraine undermine the positions of European farmers, which is becoming an obstacle in the negotiations between Kiev and Brussels, the publication writes.
The EU and Ukraine have had a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement since 2016. However, as experts note, the need for special solutions to eliminate all quotas and tariffs for a limited period shows that the so-called free trade regime has not prevented the EU from maintaining tariffs on significant volumes of Ukrainian exports for eight years. At the same time, EU countries have had virtually unlimited access to the Ukrainian market all this time. From June 4, 2022 The EU lifted tariffs on Ukrainian exports to EU countries for a year, but then extended them.
Earlier, the agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia called on the European Commission to cancel increased quotas for agricultural products from Ukraine and oblige Ukrainian companies to adhere to the standards adopted on the EU market.