On April 8-11, during his visit to Brussels, Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC), held a series of meetings with representatives of the European Parliament and the EU Commission, in particular, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee of the European Commission, representatives of specialized associations and national farmers' unions, and representatives of scientific and analytical circles.

In the photo: Paulo Do Nascimento Cabral, Member of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, and Andrii Dykun, Chairman of the UAC.

The main issues discussed at the meetings included the path of Ukraine's integration into the EU, especially the Ukrainian agricultural sector, the possibility of attracting financing for small and medium-sized farmers under the Ukraine Facility Plan, and the establishment of a transition period for the gradual integration of the Ukrainian agricultural sector into the EU. We focused on what exactly Ukraine can expect and how we can contribute to the European Union without creating challenges for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

“Given the current military situation in Ukraine, representatives of European institutions understand that our country is unable to meet EU environmental standards due to water, air and soil pollution, as well as a lack of necessary production resources, such as machinery and energy. That is why the transition period is a key condition for strengthening the future partnership. The participation of representatives of the agricultural sector in specialized events in Brussels dedicated to Ukraine's European integration is of strategic importance,” said Andrii Dykun.

The UAC Chairman noted that European politicians saw a significant role of food security in the overall security of the EU and therefore understood that the accession of Ukraine with its large agricultural areas will better ensured the strategic autonomy of the European Union itself, as Ukraine remained one of the main partners for the EU, despite the full-scale invasion.

“We talked in detail about the structure of the Ukrainian agricultural sector and the role of farmers in the Ukrainian economy, because the Ukrainian agriculture, despite the actions of the aggressor, remains the basis of national food security and an important partner for the stability of global food security. Our partners no longer talk about Ukraine's accession as a potential one. For everyone, Ukraine's accession to the EU - it is a fact that have already arrived. However, it is worth noting that Europeans do not know enough about Ukrainian farmers even during these three years of full-scale invasion, when all the world media wrote about the heavy losses of Ukrainian farmers and Ukrainian representatives were actively educating in Brussels. This is the main challenge,” commented Andrii Dykun.

The UAC expresses its gratitude to the international partners for the opportunity for professional dialogues and support of the Ukrainian agricultural sector on Ukraine's path to the European Union.