The EU hopes to implement its Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with Ukraine in September, amended to prevent fraudulent imports of Ukrainian chicken (see EUROPE 12215/30).
However, if the Ukrainian side is unable to ratify the agreement earlier, the entry into force should take place by the end of 2019.
The amendments to the DCFTA provide for an increase in the import quotas for Ukrainian poultry meat from 25,000 to 50,000 tonnes.
The provisional agreement was forwarded to Parliament for consent and to the Member States.
However, earlier this week, the MEPs in the Parliamentary Committee on International Trade were nevertheless sceptical about the amendments to the DCFTA. Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), chairman of the parliamentary committee, was dissatisfied with the fact that a substantial increase in the quota was granted after a case of fraud.
MEPs also questioned the compliance of Ukrainian producers with health standards.
History of the event
Kiev had obtained a large duty-free export quota for its products in the category 'Other bone-in chicken pieces' (CN 0207 13 70). However, a Ukrainian exporter had misused the spirit of this quota from 2016 by exporting a new cut, including chicken breast, into the EU duty-free (see EUROPE 12156/2).
As chicken breast is a critical product for European farmers, the Commission had therefore asked the Ukrainian authorities to amend their agreement. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)