Readiness of the Ukrainian agricultural sector for the EU accession: progress and prospects

Ukraine gained EU candidate status in June 2022. The European Commission willestablish a negotiating framework by the end of 2024. “Agriculture and Rural Development” is the 11th out of 33 negotiation chapters.

Given the significant size of the Ukrainian agricultural sector, this chapter may become one of the cornerstones of the negotiations between Ukraine and the European Commission. Ukraine now is at an early stage of preparation for accession under the Agriculture and Rural Development chapter.

The Centre for Economic Strategy interviewed Ukrainian and Polish experts and agribusiness representatives, as well as representatives of the European Commission.

Some possible priority areas for further integration of the Ukrainian agricultural sector into the European common market:

• Implementation of legislation aimed at creating a general framework for the functioning of the agricultural market: This includes Directive 2019/633, which aims to prevent unfair practices and primarily aims to protect small buyers and suppliers.
• Expanding the system of state aid to farmers. The legal and regulatory framework governing state support for agricultural producers is much less detailed and provides a narrower range of instruments than EU legislation.
• Monitoring and reporting. According to the updated EU CAP principles, state aid is not directly linked to production volumes but is conditional on meeting several requirements. Under this model, monitoring and reporting play a crucial role.
• Adoption of European production standards. Most of Ukraine’s European integration initiatives in agricultural production have focused on introducing standards for marketing agricultural products. However, increasing trade with the EU will also require compliance with European production practices.
• Defining a strategic export model. According to the Polish expert, a model of EU integration in which Ukraine continues to focus – at least temporarily – on non-EU countries could speed up accession. At the same time, EC representatives point out that the above strategy will require revision of trade agreements between the EU and third countries

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The study was prepared by the Centre for Economic Strategy with the support of the Ednannia Initiative Center for Civil Society Engagement and Development within the framework of the Sectoral Support Initiative for Civil Society, implemented by the Ednannia Initiative Center for Civil Society Engagement and Development in consortium with the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research and the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, with the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ednannia Initiative Activity and Development Support Centre, the United States Agency for International Development, or the United States Government.