Ukraine ready to delay EU agricultural subsidies to speed up accession process

Ukraine is ready to postpone access to some benefits of the European Union, including elements of the Common Agricultural Policy, in order to accelerate its accession process. This was stated by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Taras Kachka, in an interview with Bloomberg.

According to him, Kyiv may temporarily delay access to EU agricultural subsidies for several years in order to ease concerns among member states.

“Such an approach is possible, but let’s discuss how it could be implemented,” Kachka said.

Ukraine has already faced tensions with several EU countries, particularly Poland, over the easing of trade restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports.

Upon joining the EU, Ukraine would gain access to significant agricultural subsidies, making this one of the most sensitive issues in the bloc’s budget negotiations.

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy provides financial support to farmers and accounts for a substantial share of the bloc’s long-term budget, often making it a key issue in enlargement discussions.

The European Union is currently negotiating its next long-term budget framework for 2028–2034. Kachka noted that Ukraine could join the EU’s agricultural policy mechanisms in a later budget cycle.

He also emphasized that Kyiv is ready to quickly meet EU requirements and aims to sign an accession agreement as early as 2027, depending on the progress of negotiations.

Tags: Ukraine, subsidies, EU, agricultural sector