Brussels – The increase of quotas for certain agricultural and food commodities from Ukraine to the EU, as well as the impacts of the EU’s trade agreement with the Mercosur countries, were among the topics of Thursday’s (October 2) discussions between the Minister of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic, Richard Takáč (Smer-SD), and the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christoph Hansen, reports the Brussels correspondent of TASR.
Richard Takáč reminded that the discussions had a broader scope. They focused on the budget for agriculture within the future seven-year EU budget after 2027 and the creation of a new common agricultural policy, but he also talked with Commissioner Christoph Hansen about unresolved compensations for Slovak farmers affected by the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic, as well as the import of Ukrainian agricultural commodities into the EU and the concerns that European farmers have regarding the implementation of the free trade agreement with Mercosur.
“I mainly opened the topic of Ukraine and the quotas that are to be approved. The pre-war quotas were proposed with an increase of 25 percent, but the reality is completely different. We are at levels of 400 to 500 percent for some commodities,” he stated. He tried to explain to the commissioner that Western EU countries do not understand this situation; they do not experience it. They are far from the borders of Ukraine, and it is the closest neighbors of Ukraine who have a problem with the excessive presence of Ukrainian agricultural commodities.
“A farmer from Ukraine will not transport it to France or Germany due to high transportation costs. He will bring it right across the border. Slovakia is vulnerable in this regard and may face problems,” he described the situation.
He noted that so far there are no visible efforts from the European Commission (EC) and other member states to change the proposed limits, which is why Slovakia supports the proposal to create a special fund for states directly neighboring Ukraine, where there would be some financial package for compensating the losses of farmers and food producers affected by excessive imports from Ukraine. According to him, Slovakia must explain this not only to the European Commission but also to many EU member states.
“I will raise this in a few weeks at the next joint meeting with the Ukrainian government in Michalovce. I will inform the Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture about it, seek support from them, and explain it so that they also know that it threatens us,” said Takáč.
Referring to the agreement with Mercosur, the minister pointed out that he is waiting for the final list of quotas that the European Commission is to present, but he admitted that the Slovak agri-sector also perceives a certain threat from the implementation of this agreement, especially regarding the import of beef from South American countries. He warned that there are considerations about establishing some fund that would ensure compensations for farmers affected by the agreement with Mercosur, and in this spirit, there are similar efforts to establish a similar fund for countries neighboring Ukraine. (October 3)
“The pre-war quotas were proposed with an increase of 25 percent, but the reality is completely different. We are at levels of 400 to 500 percent for some agricultural commodities from Ukraine.” Richard Takáč
