EU considers agricultural subsidies and market access restrictions when Ukraine joins

Measures to appease existing agricultural powers such as France, Italy, and Poland

(Brussels = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyun Yoon-kyung = The British Financial Times (FT) reported on the 5th (local time) that the European Union (EU) intends to significantly restrict Ukraine's access to the regional agricultural market and annual agricultural subsidies worth 55 billion euros (approximately 83 trillion won) when it becomes a member.

According to an internal European Commission document obtained by the FT, the EU said, "Given the size and structure of Ukraine's agricultural sector and its very high productivity, there is a need to review a customized system that significantly limits financial support and market access for agricultural products such as wheat and grains," and announced its policy to only allow limited access to agricultural subsidies even if it accepts Ukraine as a new member state.

Instead, the EU added, "We will help Ukraine regain access to its traditional export markets," revealing its intention to help Ukraine normalize agricultural exports outside of Europe, which have suffered serious disruptions in agricultural exports, its main source of income, due to the war with Russia.

The EU's plan is interpreted as a measure to appease the concerns of agricultural powerhouses such as France, Italy, and Poland that if Ukraine, one of the world's three largest breadbaskets, becomes a new member, a huge influx of grains and oil seeds will disrupt the market and existing member countries may suffer damage.

The internal document obtained by the FT also included proposals to link the financial benefits of EU membership with legal and financial reforms in candidate countries, and to make it easier to strip members of voting rights if they violate EU rules.

At present, among the EU membership candidate countries, the four countries closest to membership are Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, and Albania.