Parliament voted with 347 votes in favour, 117 against and 99 abstentions to amend the Commission’s proposal to suspend import duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports to the EU for another year, from 6 June 2024 to 5 June 2025. MEPs referred the report back to the Committee on International Trade to start negotiations with the Council

The legislation gives the Commission the power to take swift action and impose any necessary measures should there be significant disruptions to the EU market, or to the markets of one or more EU countries due to Ukrainian imports, including an emergency brake for particularly sensitive agricultural products MEPs voted to amend the Commission’s proposal to include more sensitive products and a wider reference date for calculating average volumes.

The liberalising measures are conditional on Ukraine’s respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law, and its sustained efforts to fight corruption and organised crime.