Belgium, currently holding the presidency of the European Union, announced on Wednesday that EU ambassadors have reached an agreement to extend the reception of duty-free food imports from Ukraine.
This decision, according to Belgium, is part of a balanced approach to supporting Ukraine while safeguarding the EU’s agricultural markets.
The Belgian presidency stated in a post on the EU‘s official platform that the agreement will now be sent to the European Parliament for approval, aiming for a swift agreement.
Last week, the European Union reached a temporary agreement on this matter.
However, France and Poland argued that the proposed restrictions were insufficient and called for additional measures to prevent what they described as destabilizing the EU’s agricultural markets.
A knowledgeable EU diplomat revealed that the new agreement is similar to last week’s deal but adjusts the reference period used to determine the timing of emergency measures imposing tariffs on certain products.
The original agreement stipulated imposing tariffs on poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, corn, and honey if imports exceeded average levels from 2022 and 2023.
The diplomat clarified that the new settlement expands the reference period to include the second half of 2021.
