How EU's updated enlargement policy could hit Ukraine's farming and what to do
"Enlargement makes Europe stronger" – these short but grandiose words open the European Commission’s strategic communication, Preparing for a Larger Union, presented on 6 October by European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos.
The European Commission is trying to demonstrate to the governments and societies of EU member states that the old enlargement rules and procedures are no longer beneficial for the EU itself, and that the time has come to rely less frequently on the principle of unanimity when making decisions on admitting new members.
What concessions might EU member states demand in exchange for agreeing to these changes, and would those concessions be acceptable to candidate countries, particularly Ukraine? Read more in the column by Nazar Bobytsky of the international government relations firm KREAB in Brussels: The agricultural sector will pay for everyone: implications of the EU’s new approach to Ukraine’s accession.
The author highlights four groups of changes proposed by the European Commission.
Reinforced Gradual Integration. Candidate countries, including Ukraine, would gain access to certain EU policies, markets and programmes before formally becoming members, provided they meet the necessary criteria.
Reform of decision-making and Qualified Majority Voting (QMV). A creative but legitimate framework for making decisions by qualified majority would be introduced without amending the EU’s founding treaties (the Treaty on European Union or TEU).
Making the enlargement process a two-way street. For the first time in the history of EU enlargement, accession negotiations could become a genuine dialogue rather than simply a monologue by one side.
New and strengthened safeguard clauses. These mechanisms would allow member states to outsource oversight and enforcement measures addressing democratic backsliding or breaches of the rule of law in new member states after their accession. They would also address violations of the EU single market’s common rules resulting from the incomplete implementation of EU sectoral legislation.
"It is precisely the issue of safeguards, particularly economic ones, that is already causing concern among Ukrainian businesses," Nazar Bobytsky emphasises.
According to him, Ukrainian farmers are especially concerned. They have learned from the bitter experience of unilateral national bans on agricultural imports that remain in force in neighbouring EU member states, the de facto blocking of transit through those countries and the blatant exploitation of the Ukrainian agricultural issue in domestic political battles.
In particular, as the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) points out in its statement on the European Commission’s communication, an economic safeguard creates a fundamental contradiction for Ukrainian agricultural producers: they will be expected to fully align with EU standards, requiring billions in investment in production facilities, technologies and farming practices, while being given no clear prospect of full participation in the EU single market.
"For Ukraine’s agricultural sector, adapting to EU requirements is a point of no return. Once European standards have been adopted, returning to the previous production model will be virtually impossible, while the competitiveness of Ukrainian products in traditional third-country markets will decline," argues the Senior Director of KREAB’s Brussels office.
He stresses that Ukraine cannot be expected to bear the full cost of European integration while simultaneously being denied access to its economic benefits.
As Nazar Bobytsky notes, it turns out that European businesses themselves do not meet one of the key Copenhagen criteria for EU membership: the "ability to withstand competitive pressure and market forces within the European Union".
The author emphasises that no betrayal has occurred yet. According to him, the European Commission’s current proposals should also be viewed as an invitation for Ukraine to engage in a difficult but frank dialogue.