A temporary trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine is scheduled to expire on June 5th, and member states have expressed dissatisfaction with the European Commission’s inability to reach a definitive agreement on a new deal with the war-torn nation.
Two people familiar with the meeting told Euronews that tensions emerged during Monday’s closed-door session of the EU’s monthly meeting of agriculture ministers in Brussels. Representatives of member states bemoaned the Commission’s inability to reach an agreement with Ukraine, even though it had plenty of time to do so.
The Commission, which has exclusive authority to negotiate trade agreements, should have prioritised finding a long-term solution for trade liberalisation with Ukraine, according to another individual.
All taxes and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports are currently temporarily suspended under Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs), which regulate trade between the EU and Ukraine. In 2022, these actions were taken in reaction to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
However, after being extended once, the ATM program is scheduled to expire next week and cannot be renewed. The Commission has been trying in vain since late 2024 to create an official successor as its expiration approaches.
It’s no secret that the Commission and Ukraine are amid negotiations. Let’s assume that they are just in the beginning stages. At a later news conference, Czesław Siekierski, the Polish minister of agriculture and the current head of the EU Agrifish Council, acknowledged.
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