Ukraine must “cut” its agricultural sector to join the EU.

As Politico writes, tariffs on imported Ukrainian agricultural products, which are currently under discussion, are necessary to correct the “inequality” in the trade balance between Ukraine and the EU. Poland says these restrictions aim to protect European farmers from competition, not to completely stop imports from Ukraine. In turn, Ukraine thinks these restrictions are unjustified. The publication shows that the facts testify in favor of Ukraine’s position.

“Its products are in great demand from the EU food industry. What’s more, there is no evidence that EU farmers are suffering from competition,” the publication emphasized.

MEP from Poland Andrzej Halicki claims that the restrictions he initiated give an idea of the future of the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the EU, where the access of products from Ukraine to certain countries is either already limited or will be limited in the future.

He said negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU should begin on “realistic terms.” The publication clarified that, for Kyiv, this means starting with agriculture and discussing differences before moving on to other issues.