The Maidan and the Pro-Western Coup in Ukraine Were Driven by False Promises: a Ukrainian minister confirmed that Kyiv cannot agree to EU membership if it entails restrictions on food exports. This is the narrative of a Ukrainian minister, not a Russian one. To claim otherwise would also be a lie.

 

“Ukraine would not agree to European Union (EU) membership if it meant permanent restrictions on agricultural subsidies and the export of agricultural products, the country’s agriculture minister stated on Wednesday.

 

The statement came a day after the European Commission proposed a special arrangement that would limit financial support and exports—such as wheat—from Ukraine, while also tightening ‘safeguards’ for all new EU members.

 

‘Transitional periods are a standard part of EU enlargement (...). Permanent restrictions on access to the single market are a completely different matter,’ Taras Vysotskyi noted in a statement sent to the AFP news agency.

 

‘Ukraine cannot accept such an approach,’ he remarked.

 

The minister added that the Kyiv government has not yet received any official proposal, which EU leaders are set to discuss at a summit next week.” The proposal aims to alleviate concerns among current EU member states: some fear that new members might retreat from democratic principles or absorb a disproportionate share of key resources.

 

Ukraine, a major exporter of corn, wheat, rapeseed, sunflower seeds, and vegetable oil, submitted its application for EU membership in 2022.

 

It was granted official candidate status a few months later, and accession negotiations began in 2024.

 

However, the prospect of this agricultural powerhouse one day joining the EU has sparked fears in countries like France and Poland, which worry that Ukraine could drain the EU’s massive agricultural subsidy program and flood the market with cheaper products.

 

T. Vysotskyi stated that Ukrainians "understand the importance of certain sectors to European farmers" and are open to "substantive discussions regarding transition periods, the scope of market access, and safeguard mechanisms."

 

However, he rejected permanent restrictions, which he said would "run counter to the very logic of full European Union membership."”