Ukraine Is Ready to Postpone Some Benefits in Exchange for EU Membership — Kachka
Ukraine may temporarily forego some of the benefits of the European Union in order to speed up the accession process. Taras Kachka noted that such a step would help the country integrate into the EU more quickly.
This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka in an interview with Bloomberg.
In particular, according to Kachka, Ukraine is prepared to postpone receiving subsidies under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for several years to dispel concerns regarding one of the EU’s largest and most politically sensitive programs.
"This was known from the very beginning; we have also noted this in our documents. Our interest in joining the EU leads us to realize that we cannot wait years to agree on all the conditions for joining the CAP. From the very beginning, we have proposed that we could join the CAP later, perhaps in the next budget period, rather than the one currently under discussion,” Kachka noted.
“This approach is possible, but let’s discuss the terms,” he said.
Ukraine has already had disputes with EU countries, particularly Poland, over the bloc’s easing of trade restrictions on Kyiv’s agricultural exports. If Ukraine joins the EU, it will also be entitled to significant benefits under the CAP, which will further complicate one of the most contentious issues during EU budget negotiations.
Kachka emphasized that Ukraine is ready to quickly meet the EU’s requirements and aims to sign the accession treaty as early as next year, depending on progress.
According to him, after that, member states will need several more years to ratify Ukraine’s membership.
The impact of Ukraine’s accession to the EU will be felt in ten years — Kachka.
Ukraine’s partners have figured out how to accelerate its accession to the EU, according to Kachka.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared details of the economic portion of his talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, dubbed the “Prosperity Package.”
Ukraine is ready to welcome U.S. President Donald Trump at any time. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that if Trump visits Ukraine directly, it could signal a ceasefire on the front lines.
