On Friday 26 January, four members of the European People’s Party (EPP), including its group leader Manfred Weber, sent a letter to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking her to adapt the renewal of trade measures with Ukraine.
The European Commission is due to vote by the end of the week on extending the temporary measures suspending all import duties on Ukrainian products until June 2025 (see EUROPE 13328/17). The renewal of these measures was criticised by Janusz Wojciechowski, the Commissioner for Agriculture, in a letter sent in early January to the President of the Commission and to the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis (see EUROPE 13324/10).
Like the European Commissioner, the members of the EPP - the party to which Ursula von der Leyen also belongs - are urging the Commission to “implement the necessary tools to shield [European producers] from the adverse consequences of unrestricted imports”. They also stressed the need to introduce ‘safeguard clauses’, particularly in the cereals, eggs and poultry sectors.
According to the letter, this would involve, for example, registering imports in a deposit system and setting thresholds above which exports must be directed to countries outside the Union. Janusz Wojciechowski had already called for these safeguards at the beginning of the month.
This letter comes just a few days before the Commission’s announcement, which is expected later this week. The Commission is due to announce a renewal of the exceptional trade measures against Ukraine; but according to several sources, this time it should include safeguard measures in the event of record imports.
See the MEPs’ letter: https://aeur.eu/f/am7 (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)