Paris has joined Warsaw’s demands to continue restricting imports of agricultural goods from Ukraine, Politico reports, citing informed sources. According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, this measure will cause huge economic damage to the country and raise serious doubts about the EU’s solidarity with Kiev.
Paris has joined Warsaw’s calls to maintain restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. By doing so, they threaten to disrupt negotiations on extending Kiev’s ability to conduct free trade with the EU, POLITICO quoted diplomatic sources as saying.
According to the newspaper, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk came to an agreement on this issue at a recent meeting in Berlin. The proposed change would deprive Ukraine of €1.2bn in trade income.
“This is a huge blow to a country that needs all the help it can get,” one diplomat complained to Politico. – “The member states that show the most support for Ukraine are also the ones doing the most damage to the country.
The Polish government is desperately trying to quell mass protests by farmers whose key demand is to limit Ukrainian imports. French authorities are facing similar unrest in the countryside, which has prompted Macron to appeal to Brussels to ease pressure on domestic producers, the publication explains.
Overall, there is a noticeable rift between EU countries and the European Parliament on the issue of trade with Ukraine. This dispute, if not resolved quickly, risks overshadowing the upcoming summit of the bloc’s leaders in Brussels and exposing their “empty declarations” of solidarity with Kiev, Politico emphasises.