On Wednesday 21 February, Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (‘Coreper’) approved the European Commission’s proposal to renew the autonomous measures for Ukraine and Moldova for a further year. Four countries did not support the text concerning Ukraine (Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) but were unable to form a blocking minority.
The draft regulation to renew the suspension of tariffs on imports from Ukraine is being debated in EU countries bordering Ukraine, which believe that their economies are being damaged by the influx of certain Ukrainian agricultural products. Coreper members said they understood the concerns of these countries and undertook to find lasting solutions for them and for Ukraine, according to a diplomat.
The EU Council accordingly adopted the Commission’s proposal without amendment. This provides for a reinforced safeguard mechanism to prevent excessive imports, as well as an automatic safeguard on certain Ukrainian products (eggs, poultry and sugar) (see EUROPE 13340/7). Hungary, Poland and Slovakia would have liked to include grains in this automatic safeguard.
This is also the case for several Members of European Parliament. Some of them tabled amendments to the proposal, although the rapporteur of the text, Sandra Kalniete (EPP, Latvian), had suggested that her colleagues adopt the text without modifications (see EUROPE 13353/9).
Parliament’s Committee on International Trade is due to vote on the text on 7 March, followed by a vote by all MEPs at a plenary session in April. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)