President of Ukraine

Head of State holds meeting to discuss protection of Ukraine's interests and principles of free trade with EU after talk with President of European Commission

15 September 2023 - 22:13

Head of State holds meeting to discuss protection of Ukraine's interests and principles of free trade with EU after talk with President of European Commission

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a lengthy meeting with government officials and the team from the Office of the President of Ukraine regarding the further strategy for protecting Ukraine's interests and the principles of free trade with the European Union. The meeting took place immediately after a talk with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen resulted in the agreement that all temporary restrictions imposed by the EU will expire today, September 15.

The Head of State, together with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka, and Deputy Heads of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva and Rostyslav Shurma, planned further steps to support Ukrainian agrarians.

The meeting participants agreed to develop a series of effective measures in the near future to prevent similar crises from arising in the future and to protect the principles of free competition in Europe.

The Ukrainian side is in constant contact with European partners and is working on practical solutions that will allow for the optimization of agricultural exports in the interests of the entire European community without causing damage to the domestic economy.

The President of Ukraine expects that the European Commission will refrain from imposing any restrictions on Ukrainian exports in the future. Possible unilateral restrictions by some EU member countries will receive an appropriate response from Ukraine.

Participants of the meeting expressed confidence that Ukraine, as a future EU member, should already be working with European partners on long-term solutions and constant liberalization to strengthen security and free trade in Europe.