In its race for competitiveness, the EU could benefit from the gradual integration of candidate countries, according to several Member States (see EUROPE 13567/2). Given the difficulties of fully integrating certain countries, such as Ukraine and its agricultural power, into the Single Market, one solution put forward by the EU27 is gradual integration by sector. There is an emerging consensus about working on value chains in the EU and candidate countries, particularly in the highly strategic sector of critical raw materials. “This is the next step before formal entry. I got the impression from the discussion that this idea was positively generally accepted”, the Polish Minister for Development and Technology, Krzysztof Paszyk, told Agence Europe on Tuesday 4 February, at a joint meeting of EU trade and industry ministers organised by the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Other avenues for integration were also discussed. According to the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, a proposal has been made to work on mutual recognition agreements with Ukraine on industrial products. “We believe that this would bring interest to investors in Ukraine, and that this would make it easier for Ukraine to export industrial products”, the Commissioner told Agence Europe.
There remains the question of liberalising trade with Kyiv. The country is exempt from all tariffs on exports to the EU until June 2025, but a solution needs to be found for the period after that, as part of the free trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine.
The Commission will soon be putting forward a proposal, Mr Šefčovič said. He added that this will take into account the sensitivities of certain member countries regarding Ukrainian agricultural products. However, the content of the liberalisation proposal remains unknown at this stage. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)