Rumors about end of EU trade preferences for Ukraine is not official policy, says analyst

Speaking to Espreso correspondent Kateryna Halko, Neskhodovskyi said:  

"This is an unnamed source from one of the officials, not the EU's position. Of course, we need to clarify the policy of our European partners regarding the extension of the duty-free regime with Ukraine, but I wouldn’t treat this as a final decision yet. It could be a statement from officials in certain countries — like Poland, Hungary, or Slovakia — which have issues with the supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU market."

He added that individual officials cannot influence EU-wide decisions, and if challenges with agricultural exports persist, Ukraine can shift focus to alternative markets, such as China.

Neshkhodovskyi also noted that there are currently no ongoing negotiations about reformatting the trade liberalization regime. While some politicians — notably in Poland — may favor ending the arrangement, this does not reflect the position of the EU as a whole.

"This is the stance of certain individuals, not Europe’s. Still, we should not ignore it completely and should request clarification from our partners, especially considering our strategic cooperation in other sectors," he concluded.

• Ursula von der Leyen is poised to push EU regulations to their limits to offer Ukraine privileged access to the bloc's Single Market as part of a potential peace agreement.