Ukraine Will Not Accept EU Membership Model That Restricts Grain Exports — POLITICO
Ukraine “cannot agree” to an EU membership model that would impose permanent restrictions on the sale of certain food products on the European Union market, Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi told POLITICO.
The European Commission backed such a model on Tuesday as part of a so-called pre-enlargement policy review aimed at preparing the EU for the future accession of new members.
“For us, there is a fundamental difference between a transitional period and a permanent restriction. Ukraine is ready for the former. The latter would contradict the very logic of full membership in the European Union,” Vysotskyi said in written comments.
Ukraine’s potential accession to the EU raises fundamental questions over agricultural subsidies and imports. Ukraine exports millions of tons of grain to global markets, while its supplies to the EU are subject to a strict quota regime. Some countries, including Poland, blocked imports of Ukrainian grain to protect their domestic agricultural sectors.
The European Commission’s proposal calls for “significantly limiting financial support and market access for sensitive agricultural products.”
Instead of granting Kyiv full access to the European market, the European Commission proposes helping Ukraine return to its “historic” export markets, including in Africa and the Middle East.
At the same time, Vysotskyi argues that Ukraine should not be viewed solely as a threat to European farmers. According to him, Ukraine could help the EU reduce its dependence on imports from third countries of products such as fertilisers, soybeans and lysine for animal feed, while also providing European producers with better access to export routes through the Black Sea.
In addition, the minister said Ukraine could become a platform for investment in food-processing businesses.
“Our goal is to enter membership with a sector that will sell Europe not only grain and other raw materials, but also animal feed, ingredients, processed products and biofuels,” Vysotskyi added.
Vysotskyi confirmed that Ukraine is ready for transitional periods. These could include the gradual introduction of agricultural support, temporary quotas and safeguard mechanisms for sensitive products.
However, he stressed that all such restrictions must have an end date.