Poland about to reach agricultural products agreement with Ukraine

Krzysztof Paszyk, leader of the parliamentary group of the agrarian Polish Peasants' Party (PSL), has reported that Warsaw and Kyiv were close to reaching the agreement on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.

Source: Paszyk in an interview for PAP cited by Reuters, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Paszyk stated that the parties were "close to solving these problems together in dialogue" ahead of the meeting between Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski and his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solsky on 27 March in Warsaw, with the governments of the countries due to convene the next day.

"I think it will be possible today and tomorrow to make what is sometimes called a transit actually a transit ... I am optimistic about the results," he added.

Paszyk told PAP that the agreement between Poland and Ukraine must contain clearly defined qualitative and quantitative quotas on the products which can remain on the territory of Poland.

"This is the goal which can be achieved," he said.

Earlier the media reported that the Belgian leadership in the EU Council updated the draft of the agreement on extension of duty-free trade with Ukraine, taking into account new restrictions.

The updated draft partially included the demands of Poland and France. The document stipulates that the basic period to be taken into consideration upon defining the import volume of Ukrainian agricultural products will encompass not only 2022 and 2023 but also the second half of 2021 when the volume of the Ukrainian import were lower. Ukraine opposed this proposal.

The ambassadors of the 27 EU countries will not renew or extend the agreement on liberalised trade with Ukraine. The Belgian presidency allegedly postponed the approval of the updated agreement until Wednesday, citing the fact that many countries have yet to decide how they will vote.

Ambassadors of EU countries on 13 March did not manage to make a decision on the extension of measures for liberalisation of trade for Ukraine either since Poland and France disapproved the agreement coordinated with the European Parliament.

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