The EC has approved transitional trade arrangements with Ukraine following the end of visa-free trade.

The European Commission has adopted a list of transitional measures for Ukrainian exports to the EU, which will take effect after June 5 when autonomous trade preferences for Ukraine will no longer be in effect, said EC spokesman Balazs Ujvari. The transitional arrangements will remain in place as long as necessary to adjust the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which has been in effect between Ukraine and the EU since 2016. Ujvari noted that the existing autonomous trade measures needed to be renewed annually.

“Instead, we are looking for more long-term solutions. Negotiations on this are ongoing – how to revise and modernize this agreement, make it more modern,” he added.

Therefore, starting in June the EU will reinstate quotas for Ukrainian agricultural imports, which were eliminated following the Russian invasion in 2022 in order to provide support for the Ukrainian agricultural sector. The quotas in effect until the end of 2025 will amount to 7/12 of the usual annual volumes.

However, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy pointed out that both Kyiv and Brussels have the political will to agree on balanced trade conditions by the end of July.