We do not know what the conversation will be with the participation of the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Member States, the opinions of the states are divided – said on Wednesday the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Czesław Siekierski, referring to the agreements in the European Parliament regarding the restriction of imports of certain agricultural products from Ukraine from June.
EU countries and the European Parliament agreed on Wednesday to limit imports from Ukraine of agricultural products exempt from customs duties – eggs, poultry, sugar, but also oats, corn and honey – in response to agricultural protests in Europe.
The EU exempts Ukraine from customs duties for a year, but introduces protective mechanisms
According to a press release from the European Parliament, the preliminary agreement extends for one year the customs duty exemption granted to Ukraine from 2022, but with “backstop mechanisms” targeting certain sensitive products.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Czesław Siekierski, referring to this information, said that “this list of sensitive products was extended during the parliamentary debate.”
But at the same time, we do not know what the conversation will be like, what the course of the tripartite discussion will be, in which representatives not only of the Parliament, but also of the European Commission and, above all, of the Member States will take part (…). There are divided opinions on the participation and extension of this list – said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
As he pointed out, “the EU and member states have very different approaches and different expectations as to the form of support or possibilities (…) when it comes to the European side, obtaining certain requirements from Ukraine.”
Ukraine is very clever in realizing its expectations
The minister assessed that “Ukraine is very clever in meeting its expectations”, trying to maintain the support it receives in the form of duty-free access to the European market.
European farmers are protesting against the inflow of Ukrainian products, lowering local prices and introducing unfair competition.
