Five EU countries opposed the new trade agreement with Ukraine

Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria opposed the proposal to revise the trade agreement between the European Union and Ukraine, citing concerns about the possible destabilization of EU agricultural markets, as reported by Anadolu agency, quoted by Radio Rador Radio Romania.

According to diplomatic sources cited by radio, this issue was raised at a meeting of EU agriculture ministers on July 14.

"Five countries — Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania — have raised the issue of new terms of trade with Ukraine. They are convinced that the proposed changes could destabilize European markets," the anonymous diplomat said.

The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christoph Hansen, confirmed that the revised trade agreement was discussed at a meeting in Brussels at the request of a group of Member States.

"We had an open discussion about the updated agreement with Ukraine," Hansen said.

"We presented the data on the agreement and stressed that it meets the interests of our farmers," he added.

Hansen also noted that the revision of the 2016 agreement was supposed to take place in 2021, but was postponed due to the conflict in Eastern Europe. Despite the fact that the Commission completed negotiations with Kiev on June 30, the five interested countries continue to insist on amending the proposed amendments. Their main concern is the possible increase in imports of cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU market, which may affect local producers.