Ukraine rebels against EU restrictions on agricultural products... “This is a rejection of the EU model.”

EU plans to restrict market access for sensitive agricultural products from Ukraine, an agricultural powerhouse

(Brussels = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyun Yun-kyung = When the European Union (EU) announced that it would restrict financial support and market access for certain agricultural products to Ukraine, an 'agricultural powerhouse' that wants to join the EU, Ukraine protested.

According to Politico Europe, Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky issued a statement on the 6th (local time) saying he "cannot agree" with an EU accession model that permanently restricts sales of certain agricultural products on EU markets.

“Our goal is to become an EU member state that can sell not only grain and other raw materials to Europe, but also feed, raw materials, processed foods and biofuels,” said Minister Vysotsky. “We can accept a transitional period with a phased introduction of support for the agricultural sector, temporary quotas and safeguards for sensitive products, but these measures must have an end date.”

He raised his voice, saying, “There is a fundamental difference between transitional and permanent restrictions. I am prepared to accept the former, but the latter is directly contrary to the essential logic of formal EU membership.”

The backlash comes shortly after the European Commission said, "Given the size, structure and very high productivity of Ukraine's agricultural sector, there is a need to consider tailored regimes that significantly limit financial support and market access for sensitive agricultural products." Even if Ukraine is accepted as a new member state, it has announced its policy to only allow limited access to the regional agricultural market and EU agricultural subsidies worth 55 billion euros (approximately 83 trillion won) annually.

Instead of providing full access to the EU market, the EU's plan is to support the return to traditional markets such as Africa and the Middle East, where exports have been disrupted due to the blockade of the Black Sea route following the war with Russia.

The EU's plan is a measure to appease the concerns of regional agricultural powers such as France, Italy, and Poland. These countries are wary of the possibility that if Ukraine, one of the world's three largest breadbaskets, becomes a new member, a huge amount of agricultural products will flow in, disrupting the market and causing damage to existing member countries.

Ukraine, which exports millions of tons of grain to the world market every year, currently sells agricultural products to the EU market under a strict quota system. Some countries, including Poland, have blocked grain imports from Ukraine to protect their agricultural sectors.

But Minister Vysotsky said the EU should not view Ukraine as merely a threat to European farmers, arguing that "Ukraine can help reduce the EU's dependence on imports from third countries for products such as fertilizers, soybeans and lysine for livestock feed."

He added that EU producers would not only have easier access to Black Sea export routes through Ukraine, but would also be able to invest in food processing facilities in Ukraine.