FT: If Ukraine becomes a member, the EU will limit its access to agricultural subsidies and the market

In new proposals for EU enlargement, it is stated that if Ukraine becomes an EU member state, its access to the European agricultural market and agricultural subsidies amounting to 55 billion euros annually would be significantly limited, writes the British newspaper Financial Times (FT).

These restrictions, contained in an internal European Commission document seen by the FT, are designed to alleviate the fears of certain member states, including Poland, France, and Italy, that they will be flooded with large quantities of grain and oilseed products from Ukraine.

As part of the reformed accession process, the financial benefits of EU membership are linked to the implementation of legal and financial reforms in candidate countries, as well as to facilitate the withdrawal of voting rights from members that violate the rules.

These proposals are being discussed this week by senior Commission officials, ahead of their planned adoption on Tuesday.

“When it comes to Ukraine, the scale and structure of the agricultural sector… as well as the very high level of productivity, justify considering targeted arrangements that would significantly limit financial support and market access for products such as wheat and grains,” states the internal Commission document.

In return, Brussels will “support Ukraine in regaining access to its traditional export markets,” that is, in restoring shipments from Ukraine that have been disrupted by the war with Russia.

FT writes that the document identifies Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, and Albania as the countries currently most advanced in the EU membership candidacy process.

Special accession plans, so-called “roadmaps,” will be developed for them, which do not set fixed entry dates but are intended to accelerate and facilitate their progress.

However, the geopolitical pressure to accelerate enlargement, caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, has led some EU capitals to express concern that Brussels might make concessions and lower standards regarding the rule of law and the fight against corruption for new members.

A series of corruption scandals in Ukraine has heightened fears that Kyiv has not progressed as much as the enlargement rhetoric might suggest.

The office of the Ukrainian prime minister and the foreign ministry did not provide the Financial Times with a comment on the limitation of access to the European agricultural market and subsidies in the proposal, nor did the spokesperson for the European Commission.