EU Commission begins meetings with Ukraine on agrarian legislation screening

The European Commission has begun explanatory discussions with Ukrainian representatives on the official screening of legislation – verification for compliance with EU law – as part of the agriculture negotiating section.

As reported by  Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the impending EU accession negotiations' "Agriculture and rural development" part will be processed during explanatory meetings on 25-26 April. 

The following sessions, titled "Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy," will take place on 29-30 April. The fish farming meeting is scheduled for the end of May.

Following these sessions, Ukraine will be required to submit an update on its progress in each of the sections. The European Commission will then assess the legislation and recommend any necessary adjustments in order to begin negotiations on a particular component.

Originally scheduled for the end of May, the first of these sessions is to start almost a month earlier at the request of the Ukrainian side.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the country and the European Commission had decided to prioritise screening agricultural policy legislation, which should allay concerns about how Ukrainian agricultural imports will affect EU markets.