The implementation of a free trade zone between the EU and Ukraine is a crucial phase that will enable Ukraine to integrate into the single market of Europe. We aim to strengthen and expedite this direction, stated European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič during a joint meeting of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission in Kyiv on Monday.
He noted that the next step in the collaboration between the European Commission and the Ukrainian government will be to accelerate this process. To this end, the EC wants to see results from the prioritization of reforms that Ukraine has been implementing since 2021, as well as to review the action plan for 2025-2026.
"We will continue to focus on the future, and our priority action plan should be simplified and more ambitious. There should be 10 key objectives that we need to achieve. This is the first harvest on our path toward Euro-integration," he said.
The Commissioner also mentioned that discussions with Deputy Minister of Economy - Trade Representative Taras Kachka and Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Koval revolved around the prospects for temporary liberalization of agricultural exports.
"We talked about additional liberalization that should be achieved by June 5. We fully hope to resolve this integration after the transitional provisions are met. For us, this is very important on one hand, and on the other, it is a sensitive issue... for some of our member states. European farmers are also expressing concerns about the sensitivity of this matter," Šefčovič explained.
The Commissioner thanked the Ukrainian trade representative and the Minister of Agrarian Policy for their fruitful negotiations aimed at accelerating integration processes in the liberalization of trade between the EU and Ukraine.