The unilateral favouring of Ukraine has had serious economic impacts on Slovakia, in particular in agriculture, said Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) on Thursday, adding that the only way forward for the government is to continue to implement the ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine.
"Imagine being able to export agricultural products to the EU market without customs duties or quotas. This harms Slovak farmers, who cannot be competitive and lose their traditional outlets, which are occupied by favoured agricultural products from Ukraine," said Fico.
The premier added that a significant proportion of Ukrainian commodities supposedly destined for beyond the EU end up in EU-member states anyway, which leads to totally unfair conditions on the internal European market.
"Yesterday, on my instructions, Slovak representatives in EU bodies voted against the European Commission's proposal to extend the trade liberalisation regime in favour of Ukraine for another year, until 5 June 2025," said Fico.
According to Fico, the European Commission's position only confirms that the only option for the Slovak government is to continue to implement the ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine. At the moment, a total of 14 products are involved. "We'll extend and update the ban according to Slovak needs. I'm sympathetic to Ukraine's needs, but the Slovak government's first priority must be Slovak farmers and people," remarked Fico. (TASR)
