EU agri ministers in Brussels discussing food exports from Ukraine

This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to APA.

"The EU ministers of agriculture are meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. They will discuss the impact of Ukrainian agricultural exports, lab meat, and the conservation status of wolves," the report reads.

It is noted that in the near future, the European Commission is expected to announce the extension of duty-free regime for Ukrainian agricultural products. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis also stated the need to lay down protective measures for Ukraine's neighboring countries.

As APA notes, the Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Marek Vyborny, speaking ahead of the EU Council meeting, supported the idea of extending the duty-free regime for Ukrainian products. At the same time, according to the minister, producers from Ukraine will have to fulfill the same conditions as farms operating across the EU.

Another issue on the Council's agenda will be the protection status for wolves. Recently, the European Commission proposed to lower the status of wolves from “strictly protected” to “protected”. This would require amendments to the Berne Convention, which the EU and its member states have undertaken to comply with. If the conservation status is reduced, wolves can be hunted with fewer restrictions.

In addition, a group of EU countries, which includes Austria, Italy, and France, put on the agenda the question of stem cell lab-grown meat. Such meat has not yet appeared in EU strores but research in this field is already underway. Therefore, a total of 12 EU countries seek a debate on the possible implications as early as possible.

As Ukrinform reported, earlier European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski (Poland) threatened to block the European Commission's order on the extension of the free trade agreement with Ukraine for 2024-2025, if the Commission fails to consider his proposals regarding trade restrictions on Kyiv.