The Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU postponed approval of the trade agreement with Ukraine by the ambassadors of 27 countries to March 27. France and Poland, with the support of countries bordering Ukraine, want to make changes to the agreement that will further limit the import of agricultural products. Therefore, the leadership of the Council of the EU decided to allow a little more time prior to making a final decision.
Diplomats from France give their assurance that postponing approval of the agreement means that “negotiations are ongoing” and that “the text of the agreement is not ready for adoption.”
In addition to Ukraine’s neighboring countries, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia also expressed their readiness to join the Franco-Polish initiative.
However, Germany and the Netherlands do not want changes to the agreement. They consider it wrong that, on the one hand, the EU allocates billions of euros to support Ukraine, and on the other hand, it wants to deprive it of the opportunity to generate revenue.