Despite the war, Ukraine managed to increase exports to the EU, which amounted to $27.9 billion in 2022. This was achieved thanks to trade liberalization, in particular, the removal by the EU of quotas and duties for Ukrainian products, as well as of road transport permits, for the period of martial law in Ukraine. This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, during a live broadcast of the National Telethon on February 8.
“All the steps taken by the European Union to liberalize trade with Ukraine have made it possible to direct most of the trade to the EU market. In 2022, 55% of mutual trade turnover was accounted for by European countries. We will continue to work to ensure that the EU extends the regulations that allow Ukraine to trade without quotas and tariffs. Given the conditions in which Ukrainian business operates, this would be a very significant support for Ukraine on the economic front,” said Yuliia Svyrydenko.
Answering the question about integration into the EU internal market, the First Deputy Prime Minister noted that this was an intermediate stage between the Free Trade Agreement and full EU membership. First of all, it means equal rights for Ukraine and other EU member states in all areas – movement of goods (ACAA agreement), telecommunications, energy, customs, food safety, etc.
Ukraine plans to sign the ACAA Agreement until the end of the year. This means that all industrial production will operate according to EU rules, which implies that it will be beneficial for European businesses to locate production for the EU market in Ukraine.
The discussion also touched upon Ukraine’s sanctions policy, in particular, the imposition of sanctions on russia’s nuclear energy sector.
“The IAEA recorded that rosatom had violated 7 nuclear safety criteria, it was a terrorist company that should be held fully accountable for this. Imposing sanctions on rosatom is an absolutely logical step on the part of the President and the National Security and Defense Council, and we will continue to put pressure on the terrorist country. We need to synchronize with our European and American partners in order to impose sanctions on all companies that supply components for the russian army,” emphasized Yuliia Svyrydenko. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)