Ukraine denies trade-off plan for agriculture in EU talks

Terms for the integration of Ukraine’s agricultural sector into the European Union will be determined during negotiations, two ministers said on Tuesday,
denying Kyiv was considering seeking an easing of the EU’s Green Deal requirements.
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior official told Reuters that Ukraine could consider forgoing the EU’s agrarian subsidies in exchange for an easing of Green Deal requirements during accession talks starting next month.
“The terms of Ukraine’s agricultural sector’s accession to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be determined during the negotiation process,” Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna and Farm Minister Mykola Solsky said in separate statements.
“There can be no talk of any abandonment of subsidies and grants, as the rules should be the same for everyone,” they said.
Ukraine, which has a huge agrarian complex capable of feeding hundreds of millions of people, was invited to join the EU last year and will start sectoral talks on its accession in March to harmonise its legislation with EU requirements.