EU agrees on compromise on extending trade measures for Ukraine - Belgian Presidency of Council of EU

BRUSSELS. March 27 (Interfax) - The EU ambassadors have reached a compromise on extending duty-free trade with Ukraine, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU said on Wednesday.

"EU ambassadors agreed on a new compromise to extend trade measures for Ukraine, securing a balanced approach between support for Ukraine and protection of EU agricultural markets," the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU said in a statement on the social network X.

This agreement remains to be approved in the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.

The corresponding measures envisage extending the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU.

After the meeting of the Council of European Agriculture in Brussels, David Clarinval, Belgian agriculture minister and Council chairman, said the Belgian Presidency had signed a temporary agreement on this matter with the European Parliament and the European Commission in the early hours of March 20.

This agreement envisages a balance between support to Ukraine to ensure that it receives its own revenues and the need to protect the European market, he said.

The Council of the EU released a communique on March 20 that said an agreement had been reached with the European Parliament on extending the special trade measures for Ukraine, which had been in effect since 2022.