According to Euractiv, the European Parliament's Trade Committee has rejected all amendments supported by agricultural groups regarding the proposal to suspend duties and quotas on agricultural products from Ukraine, paving the way for the swift adoption of the decision at the EU level.

All amendments were rejected

The sudden increase in imports of food products from Ukraine into the EU has been a contentious issue for months and one of the main factors behind protests by farmers in Eastern European countries. The proposal to extend the suspension of customs duties was rejected by agricultural groups, which sought broader guarantees.

However, the trade committee voted to reject all amendments, approving the unmodified text with 26 votes in favor, 10 against, and one abstention.

"Extending the EU's trade measures will ensure that Ukraine can continue to export its agricultural products to the EU," while providing "solid assurances" that EU farmers will not be "overwhelmed by a sudden increase in imports," said MEP and rapporteur Sandra Kalniete (EPP).

If next week's plenary session of the Parliament gives the green light to the text without amendments, the Council - which has not proposed any changes - will only need to officially approve the regulation to allow it to take effect after being published in the EU Official Journal.

Controversial measures

The influx of Ukrainian agricultural products has been at the center of protests by farmers, leading to tensions at the border between Poland and Ukraine and between Poland and other EU member states, such as Lithuania.

On January 31, to support Ukraine in its war effort, the European Commission proposed to extend the suspension of duties and tariffs on Ukrainian imports until June 2025.

The regulation strengthened normal safeguard measures in the event of an excessive influx of food and proposed an automatic restoration of duties if volumes of poultry, eggs, and sugar exceed the 2022-2023 average.

Following requests from farmers, MEPs submitted amendments in the agriculture and trade committees, proposing to extend the sectors covered by safeguard measures and an emergency threshold that also takes into account pre-war import volumes.

EU farmer organizations welcomed a vote in the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee calling for more guarantees against food imports, in the context of a recent Commission proposal to renew trade liberalization measures for Ukraine.

Mixed reactions

"There is no excuse for so blatantly ignoring the concerns of the agricultural community," said six farmer and food producer organizations following the vote, calling for amendments to be submitted in plenary.

"It will not be acceptable for there not to be final amendments to the proposal," said farmer organizations Copa and Cogeca, EU poultry processors and traders, sugar producers, corn producers, beet growers, and the poultry egg wholesaler union.

However, Ukrainian Minister for Economic Development, Trade, and Agriculture Taras Kachka gave a different tone, stating to Euractiv.