Ukraine is ready to fix the level of exports of eggs, chicken meat and sugar to Poland at the level of 2022-2023, Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
“We have already introduced a verification and control mechanism for four groups of cereals on September 16. We are also ready to go in terms of setting the export level for eggs, chicken meat and sugar at the level of 2022-2023. These are quite large volumes. We are ready to fix them and move within these boundaries,” Shmygal said at the forum “Ukraine. Year 2024” on Sunday.
Prime Minister also said that representatives of the Ukrainian government were at the Ukrainian-Polish border on Friday and talked to Ukrainian carriers who were returning by grain carriers from Europe.
Commenting on the protests of Polish farmers on the Ukrainian-Polish border, the Prime Minister reminded that they were taking place against the background of Russia’s hybrid warfare in Europe. “This should not be forgotten. There is support for radical and pro-Russian political forces throughout the European Union, particularly in Poland. This leads to terrible things that we see when they pour out grain and act illegally,” he emphasized.
Shmygal noted that the Polish government and the police react to these violations adequately, and appropriate cases are initiated. The first violators have already been brought to court, they face up to five years in prison.
According to the prime minister, the Ukrainian government announced five steps to unblock the Ukrainian-Polish border, and also notified the European Commission about Ukraine’s proposed “plan of mutual understanding” with Poland. Now Ukraine will start implementing them jointly with the European Commission.
As reported, Ukraine on February 23 on the Ukrainian-Polish border announced five steps for the de-blockade of the border. In particular, Ukraine agreed to limit the entry of poultry meat, eggs and sugar to Poland and will export them to the EU without quotas and duties in volumes no more than the average in 2022 and 2023. In addition, Ukraine is ready to continue the mechanism of verification of exports of grain, corn, sunflower and rapeseed, which means that these four groups of goods will not enter the Polish market without Polish authorization.
The second step will be Ukraine’s appeal to the European Commission with a proposal to conduct urgent screening of clusters 4 and 5, which include agrarian policy and transportation.
The third step is a proposal to the Polish government to adopt a joint appeal to the European Commission to stop Russian agricultural exports to the EU.
The fourth step was the creation of a “Trilateral Headquarters: Ukraine, Poland, European Commission” co-chaired by the agrarian ministers of Ukraine, Poland and a representative of the European Commission.
The fifth step is to expand free passage across the border not only for ammunition and humanitarian aid, but also for Ukraine’s critically needed fuel.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the attraction of another grant from the United States in the amount of $4.5 billion, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“The Cabinet of Ministers will approve the attraction of another grant from the United States in exchange for $4.5 billion, ” Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Tuesday.
According to the Prime Minister, this is a clear demonstration that the allies continue to help Ukraine bring victory closer.
Shmyhal said that the funds would be received through a fund created by the World Bank.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Turkey at a government meeting on Wednesday.
According to First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, the agreement will bring an additional 2% of GDP annually.
“The basis of the agreement is the zeroing of duties by Turkey for 10,337 commodity items. This is 95% of the total number of goods. Another 1,348 commodity items will be subject to tariff quotas or duty reduction,” she said, presenting the draft FTA Agreement with Turkey at the government meeting.
Currently, Ukraine exports 1,100 commodity items to Turkey, since Turkey has one of the highest levels of customs protection in the world, she said. At the same time, the level of Ukrainian customs duties is one of the lowest.
“In recent years, we have begun to observe that Ukrainian duties have generally ceased to be a barrier to Turkish goods, while Turkish duties for our goods have been an impenetrable wall for entering their market,” Svyrydenko said.
According to her, Ukraine reserves the right to apply a duty on the export of scrap metal.
“At the same time, Turkey opens the domestic market for our metal. Duties for another 130 commodity items of metallurgy goods have been partially reduced… And additional quotas have been established for 160 metallurgy goods,” Svyrydenko said.
According to her, Ukraine will retain duties on the import of used cars, setting transitional periods of three to five years for vehicles and light industry products. As for the latter, Svyrydenko announced state support in the form of affordable loans for the modernization of equipment for Ukrainian light industry companies.
At the same time, the parties reserve the right to restore the effect of duties through the mechanism of bilateral safeguard measures.
As Svyrydenko said, the review of the agreement shall take place no later than two years later.
There are no economic prerequisites or political grounds for the resignation of the current Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and this is unacceptable one year before the presidential election, People’s Front Party leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said. “There will be no resignations of the Cabinet of Ministers. There are no economic prerequisites or political grounds for that. The issue of a report by the Cabinet of Ministers is raised exclusively for political motives, as it was raised when there was a political struggle against my Cabinet of Ministers,” Yatsenyuk told reporters on the sidelines of the 11th Kyiv Security Forum on Friday.
The politician noted that the People’s Front faction has no questions to the government as a whole or to its members delegated to the Cabinet of Ministers from this political party. According to him, People’s Front representatives in the government are coping with their duties, and if partners from the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko party consider it necessary to change some ministers, then this is their right, and there is a respective procedure for this.
Yatsenyuk stressed that the resignation of the government was unacceptable one year before the presidential elections. “There must be stability in the country, so that a fair, transparent presidential election is held, so that the course of reforms continues in the country, and so that there are no signs of political destabilization,” he added.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, RESIGNATION, UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT, UNACCEPTABLE
