EU ambassadors fail to decide on extension of duty-free trade with Ukraine

On Wednesday, European ambassadors failed to make a decision on extending trade liberalization measures for Ukraine for another year. This was reported by Politico.

EU ambassadors were supposed to approve a temporary agreement concluded between the institutions overnight. But several countries refused, demanding more time to assess the impact of the agreement, according to two European diplomats and one EU official. All were granted anonymity to discuss behind closed doors.

“It’s an unwelcome turn ahead of an EU summit on Thursday at which leaders want to show solidarity with Ukraine as it confronts Russia’s two-year war of aggression, while taking care not to anger influential voters – including struggling farmers – who could influence Europe’s June elections,” the newspaper writes.

The compromise reached between negotiators from the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission will expand import restrictions to cover four additional agricultural products and require the EU executive to act faster in the event of a sharp rise in imports.

The EU negotiators also decided not to extend the 2022-2023 baseline period for calculating the limits to include 2021, when imports from Ukraine to the EU were much lower.

But that was a red line for Paris, French Agriculture Minister Marc Feno said Wednesday morning.

“The deal is still not what we wanted,” Feno said, adding that solidarity with Ukraine should not come at the “cost of unduly destabilizing” European markets.

The ambassadors will discuss the issue at their next meeting next week.

Although this decision complicates the process, negotiators still hope that the measures will be agreed upon before they expire in early June, Politico notes.

As reported, on Wednesday, the EU Parliament and Council reached a preliminary agreement on the extension of trade liberalization measures for Ukraine.

Tags: Ukraine, EU