Elections in Poland and Romania become an obstacle to the EU-Ukraine trade deal
16 June 14:03
The European Commission may have deliberately delayed the adoption of a new trade agreement between the EU and Ukraine in order not to harm the election campaigns of Rafal Trzaskowski (who lost in Poland) and Nicușor Dan (who won re-election in Romania). This was reported by Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, "Komersant Ukrainian" informs
According to the newspaper, Brussels is working on the provisions of a new agreement on the establishment of trade rules between the EU and Ukraine, which should contain a number of unfavorable decisions for European farmers. Initially, it was supposed to be adopted by June 4, but this date was postponed, and work on it is likely to be completed in late July. This is due to the elections in Poland and Romania.
“According to sources in the DGP, the European Commission may have deliberately delayed its adoption in order not to harm the election campaigns of pro-European presidential candidates in Poland and Romania – Rafal Trzaskowski (who lost) and Nicusor Dan (who won the re-election in Romania),” the newspaper reports.
According to the information obtained by the newspaper, this is due to the fact that the document contains many provisions that are unfavorable for farmers from Central Europe and favor Ukrainians.
For this reason, Brussels feared that if everything went according to plan, the agreement could affect the election results. For this reason, it was decided to change the dates, and as a result, the agreement, which according to initial assumptions should have already entered into force, is likely to come into force at the end of July.
It is worth emphasizing here, as Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reminds us, that a similar situation has arisen with another EU regulation that is causing a lot of controversy not only in Warsaw and Bucharest, but throughout Europe. We are talking about the Migration Pact.
In June 2022, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the EU temporarily abolished duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products to help Ukraine compensate for increased export costs due to the threat to traditional sea trade routes in the Black Sea. The benefits expired on June 6, 2025.
According to the updated terms, the volume of authorized exports from Ukraine by the end of 2025 will amount to 7/12 parts of the annual quota. This is due to the fact that the quotas will be in effect as early as June, i.e. for the remaining 7 months of the year.
However, Ukrainian exporters no longer need to obtain licenses for those goods that were subject to licensing for export to the EU until 2022 – this requirement has been temporarily canceled. As for quotas, they will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. That is, the amount of available exports will decrease as exports are submitted and carried out.
Although none of the EU member states opposed the decision, a number of countries – including Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Lithuania – abstained from voting.
These restrictions are temporary. The European Commission is currently reviewing the terms of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU to create stable and predictable conditions for business from both the EU and Ukraine, taking into account Ukraine’s future membership in the EU.
