Ukraine's accession to EU would pose challenges to Polish agricultural sector - Polish agriculture minister

MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Ukraine's possible accession to the European Union would pose a challenge to the EU's agricultural sector and would require a solution not harming Polish farmers, Ukrainian media quoted Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus as saying at an EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council session in Brussels on Monday.

Ukrainian media said with reference to the Polish publication pap.pl that Telus met with agriculture ministers of the Visegrad Group countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) and the coalition of five EU countries bordering Ukraine (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria) to discuss prospects for Ukraine's accession to the EU.

"These are challenges to the EU's agriculture. But above all to us - I mean Poland and the other of the five countries. We should explore solutions that would not harm the European agricultural sector, so that Ukraine's accession to the EU doesn't harm our farmers. Both groups agree that these issues are important and we should take care of them," he said.

Discussing transit of Ukrainian grain via the EU, the ministers agreed that "transit is growing and becoming better," Telus said.

"This grain does not end up in our countries. This is a good solution," Telus said, adding that the other EU countries also acknowledged this behind the scenes.

Telus also said he expected the EU to draw conclusions from this and set up a system making sure that Ukrainian goods are shipped where they had been shipped before the crisis.