On May 15-16, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine conducted a series of important European integration events aimed at deepening cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, developing bilateral trade, and accessing the EU market for Ukrainian agricultural products.
Thus, the 14th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Dialogue on Agriculture was held, which is conducted twice a year within the framework of the Memorandum between the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development.
The next event was the 4th meeting of the Cluster 5 (Agriculture and Rural Development, Cross-Border, Regional Cooperation, Danube River, Fisheries and Maritime Policy) of the EU-Ukraine Subcommittee on economic and other sector cooperation.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Voldymyr Topchiy, Head of Division, Strategy and Instruments of the European Neighbourhood Policy, European External Action Service – Co-chair of EU delegation Anna Strzaska, Programme manager, EU Delegation in Kyiv Christian Hell, head of EU Project “Support to Agricultural and Food Policy Implementation” John Millns, Team Leader, Agriculture and SPS, Support Group for Ukraine Markus Klingler, representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, The State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre, the European Commission.
"The EU-Ukraine Dialogue is a good opportunity to analyze the current situation in the agrarian sector, to exchange experience on the most urgent issues and to deepen our cooperation in the framework of joint projects. Working out of new decisions with European colleagues concerning the development of such important sectors as, for example, organic production, animal husbandry, land relations, will have a positive effect on the Ukrainian economy as a whole," Deputy Minister Volodymyr Topchiy said.
Thus, the main topics of the Dialogue were the review of the new Law on Organic Production, with emphasis on the provisions concerning the control and supervision of operators, as well as certification bodies; review of the monitoring and control system within the EU; cooperation and exchange of information between Ukraine and the EU on control and monitoring of the organic sector and trade of organic products (OFIS, TRACES), exchange of experience in the field of control of land use and soil fertility, and the impact of the livestock sector on climate change.
At the Cluster meeting, the progress in implementing the Agricultural and Rural Development Strategy for 2020 in Ukraine; Issues on the implementation of the Association Agreement in the field of agriculture and the status of approximation of legislation; Implementation of the State Strategy for Regional Development by 2020 and the use of the State Regional Development Fund; territorial cooperation and border cooperation programs of the Eastern Partnership; a common policy in the field of fisheries and maritime policy; cooperation on the development of the blue economy in the Black Sea were discussed.
“European Union stands ready to fully support Ukraine in implementation of Association Agreement and the DCFTA. We fully support the objective of the political association and European integration of Ukraine. And today’s topics of the discussion on development of agriculture, maritime and fisheries as well as other areas including cross-border cooperation, cultural issues are really at the heart of our cooperation. In addition to today's important meetings of our bilateral bodies, the Agricultural Dialogue and the Cluster 5, we look forward to for further active and fruitful cooperation between Ukraine and the EU” – Head of Division, Strategy and Instruments of the European Neighbourhood Policy, European External Action Service – Co-chair of EU delegation Anna Strzaska commented.
Press Service of the Ministry