European Parliament supported continuation of trade liberalization for Ukraine
The European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade approved the continuation of trade liberalization measures to support Ukraine before the Russian war.
This was reported in the European Parliament, Censor.NET informs.
The vote included a proposal to extend the temporary suspension of import duties and quotas for Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU for another year, from June 6, 2024, to June 5, 2025.
26 deputies spoke "for", "against" - 10, and 1 abstained.
The European Parliament is expected to vote on the first reading position in next week's plenary session. If the Parliament adopts its position in the first reading, the Council will officially approve the regulation, and it will enter into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Before that, the European Commission proposed to cancel import duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products for another year, until June 2025. They were initially suspended in 2022 after a Russian invasion that damaged supplies across the Black Sea.
Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine Taras Kachka explained that today's procedural vote triggers the political approval of this decision, which should take place without discussion."
He added that even a week ago, more than 100 amendments to the proposal of the European Commission were submitted to the agricultural and trade committee.
"Almost all of them suggested narrowing access to the EU market of Ukrainian products. The reason is the demands of farmers and the upcoming elections to the European Parliament," Kachka wrote on Facebook.
