During a trialogue meeting on Tuesday 13 June, negotiators from the European Parliament, led by their rapporteur Jaroslaw Walesa (EPP, Poland), and from the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council reached a preliminary agreement on the plan for temporary autonomous trade preferences for certain Ukrainian agricultural and industrial products – in addition to what the EU already offers as part of the EU-Ukraine free trade area.
This preliminary agreement is now due to be approved by member state trade experts on Thursday 15 June, in order to pave the way to its formal adoption by the European Parliament and Council.
The measures proposed comprise additional zero-duty import quotas for certain agricultural products, and the partial or total removal of import duties for certain industrial products for a period of three years.
The package of measures provides for the EU's application of safeguard measures and makes the granting of the additional preferences conditional upon Ukraine's respect of the same principles as in the framework of the association agreement (democracy and the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms).
During a vote on 1 June, the European Parliament backed the EU's additional trade preferences – but with exceptions for wheat, tomatoes and urea (see EUROPE 11800).
On Tuesday 6 June, the EU member states reached an agreement, at ambassador level (Coreper), on the EU Council's position on this plan (see EUROPE 11802). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)