EU ambassadors postpone approval of trade agreement with Ukraine

Consideration of the updated agreement on trade liberalization with Ukraine by the EU ambassadors has been postponed from March 25 to March 27.

This was reported by RMF24, citing sources in Brussels.

According to the sources, the discussion of this issue was postponed because many countries have not yet decided how they will vote. The Belgian presiding representative therefore decided to give them additional time to finalize their position.

At the same time, it is noted that additional changes to the current version of the text of the agreement will require additional negotiations with the European Parliament, which threatens to prevent the process from being completed on time (by June 5).

At the same time, French diplomats allegedly say that the postponement means that “negotiations are still ongoing” and changes to the text are possible. France, like Poland, wants to extend the “reference period” to which the limits on imports of certain types of agricultural products from Ukraine will be tied. Paris also wants to expand the list of products.

The publication also notes that the position of Poland and France has allegedly been supported by more countries, not only Ukraine’s closest neighbors, but also Italy, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia.

Germany and the Netherlands are against it, arguing that this would leave Ukraine, which is already dependent on international aid, with fewer opportunities to fill its budget on its own.

Tags: EU, France, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Ukraine