If after June 5, when the autonomous trade measures for exports from Ukraine to the EU (the so-called trade visa-free regime) expire, the European Commission and Ukraine do not have time to make the necessary amendments to the Ukraine-EU free trade agreement, Brussels will propose transitional measures to protect Ukrainian exporters. This was announced by European Commission spokesman Olof Gill at a briefing in Brussels on May 7, the correspondent of “European Truth” reports.
The European Commission spokesman said that after the expiration of the “trade visa-free regime”, transitional measures may be introduced for Ukrainian exporters so that trade conditions do not return to pre-war restrictions.
“As you all know, the autonomous trade measures expire on June 5. The Commission does not intend to extend the autonomous trade measures after this date,” said Olof Gill.
He recalled that the European Commission’s current priority is “working on the revision of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU (DCFTA).
“We have made this clear from the very beginning. We want to improve the DCFTA in order to offer long-term predictability and stability to operators both in the EU and in Ukraine,” the European Commission spokesman stressed.
According to him, such a transition will strengthen the prospect of Ukraine’s gradual movement towards EU accession, and will also help to resolve sensitive issues from the EU side, in particular in the agri-food sector.
“We know that there are time constraints. Therefore, we are also considering possible transitional measures in case the negotiations on the revision of the DCFTA are not completed and implemented by June 6. So we will also discuss these potential transitional measures with Ukraine,” Olof Hill said.
