Europarl endorses extension of duty-free trade regime for Ukraine, Moldova for another year
BRUSSELS. March 13 (Interfax) - The European Parliament has endorsed the European Commission's proposal to extend the liberalization of a trade regime with Ukraine and Moldova until June 5, 2025, the European Parliament press service said.
The relevant decision was made during a plenary session of the European Parliament, which took place in Strasbourg on Wednesday. As many as 347 MEPs voted for it, 117 voted against and 99 abstained.
In particular, the temporary suspension of import duties and quotas on exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU is supposed to be extended for another year, from June 6, 2024 to June 5, 2025.
The document "gives the commission the power to take swift action and impose any necessary measures should there be significant disruptions to the EU market, or to the markets of one or more EU countries due to Ukrainian imports." This also implies "an emergency brake for particularly sensitive agricultural products [members of the European Parliament] MEPs voted to amend the commission's proposal to include more sensitive products and a wider reference date for calculating average volumes. The liberalizing measures are conditional on Ukraine's respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law, and its sustained efforts to fight corruption and organized crime," the statement said.
The regulation will take effect once it is approved by the Council of the EU and published in the Official Journal of the EU.
The association agreement between the EU and Ukraine, which includes the creation of a free trade area, has provided Ukrainian businesses with preferential access to the EU market since 2016. Following the start of a military operation in the country, the EU introduced measures in June 2022 that provided duty-free access for all Ukrainian products to the EU market. These measures were extended for one year in June 2023 and expire on June 5, 2024.
On January 31, 2024, the European Commission proposed extending the liberalization of the trade regime with Ukraine and Moldova for another year.