The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron expressed on Friday his wish to “reopen” the European agreement reached on Wednesday to renew the customs exemption granted to Ukraine while capping certain agricultural imports – restrictions that Paris considers insufficient. “We need to find a balance,” said Emmanuel Macron after a European summit in Brussels, stressing that “particularly in recent months, (Ukrainian) production has soared,” “destabilizing” the European market.
“Today, Ukraine does not produce according to European rules. We gave it a facility linked to the war, but we are in the process of eroding the acceptability of Ukraine (in public opinion). European public) and Ukrainian producers everywhere on the European market because it is not fair”, he denounced. The EU granted an exemption from customs duties to Ukraine in spring 2022 to support the economy of the country at war. Member States and MEPs agreed on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday to renew this exemption for one year, from June, but with restrictions.
The text still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and member states
Under pressure from European farmers – in particular Polish – who denounce unfair competition, the agreement plans to cap imports of poultry, eggs, sugar, corn and oats from Ukraine into the EU at volumes from 2022-2023, levels at -above which tariffs will be reimposed. However, the agreement does not include wheat and barley in this mechanism, as demanded by MEPs and agricultural organizations. The text still needs to be formally approved by the European Parliament and member states to enter into force.
“Our wish is that we can reopen the text in the coming hours, and find an agreement,” declared Emmanuel Macron. He hoped that “soft wheat in particular (…) would be included in these safeguard measures”, and that the reference period for the caps would also cover the year 2021, before the war. “We want Ukraine and Ukrainian producers to be able to continue exporting in a more difficult context.” But sometimes, “it is producers or large European groups who will take advantage of this agreement to produce in Ukraine and re-import with lower production rules on our soil”, he denounced, criticizing “a diversion ” of customs exemption.
“We have volumes which have multiplied by five or ten in certain categories” of products, further affirmed the French president.