On Tuesday 26 March in Brussels, the agriculture ministers of the European Union were divided over the terms and conditions relating to the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.
“We are working on a joint solution to extend trade liberalisation measures with Ukraine, ensuring that Ukraine continues to benefit from economic advantages, while making sure that European farmers are not disadvantaged under this process”, said European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski to EU ministers.
On the subject of the situation facing agricultural markets within the EU, the ministers clearly had differences of opinion regarding arrangements for implementing autonomous trade measures for Ukraine.
The Committee of Member States' Representatives to the EU (Coreper) will attempt to reach a compromise on this matter on Wednesday 27 March (see EUROPE 13378/24).
Marc Fesneau, the French minister, noted that he was asking for 2021 to be added to the reference period provided for (2022/2023) in the interinstitutional agreement on these trade measures. France, “along with other countries”, is calling for soft wheat and barley to be included in the list of products covered by the automatic safeguard, said the Minister. Marc Fesneau pointed out that there was a “blocking minority” within the EU Council who were against the agreement being tabled, which neither includes soft wheat nor barley.
István Nagy, the Hungarian minister, said any proposal that did not include wheat was “unacceptable”. The Latvian minister also called for “all cereals” to be included in the products covered.
“We are defending Ukraine’s position”, said the Spanish minister, Luis Planas, who expressed his support for the continuation of Ukrainian exports both within and outside the EU.
Cem Özdemir, the German minister, called for the interinstitutional agreement to be adopted as negotiated, “without adding new conditions”. “The agriculture ministers themselves are also part of the solidarity project with Ukraine”, he insisted.
Mykola Solsky, the Ukrainian minister, reportedly told the EU Council that his country needed the trade measures to be extended more than ever. He was of the opinion that volumes of cereals from Ukraine to the EU have returned to pre-war levels. According to Mr Solsky, Ukraine is not responsible for the fall in cereal prices.
The European Commission has indicated that cereal prices are now at “their lowest levels since 2020”. This development represents “a major challenge for EU farmers”, admitted Janusz Wojciechowski.
Since the reopening of the Black Sea corridor in autumn 2023, almost 18.4 million tonnes of cereals and oilseeds have been exported by Ukraine along this route (5.2 million tonnes in February), according to the European Commission. This route, together with the ‘solidarity lanes’, will allow Ukraine to export more than 7 million tonnes of cereals and oilseeds per month as of December 2023. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)