(April 21): Ukraine is willing to delay access to some European Union (EU) benefits to accelerate its bid to join the bloc, Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka said.
Particularly, Kachka said, Ukraine is willing to put off receiving subsidies from the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, for several years in an attempt to ease concerns over one of the bloc’s largest and most politically sensitive programmes.
“This kind of approach is possible, but let’s discuss modalities,” Kachka told Bloomberg TV in an interview.
Ukraine has already clashed with EU countries, including Poland, over the bloc’s easing of trade restrictions on Kyiv’s agricultural exports. If Ukraine joined the EU, it would also be entitled to considerable CAP benefits — further complicating what is already one of the most contested issues during EU budget negotiations.
The programme provides financial support to EU farmers and accounts for a significant share of the bloc’s long-term budget, often shaping negotiations for new members. The EU is currently negotiating a long-term financial framework that would run from 2028 through 2034. Ukraine could join the CAP in a later EU budget cycle, Kachka said.
Kyiv’s priority is full EU membership as quickly as possible, even if that means delaying access to certain policies and funding streams that other member states receive. Kachka said Ukraine is ready to meet EU requirements rapidly and aims to sign an accession treaty as soon as next year, depending on progress. Member states would still take several years after that to ratify Ukraine’s membership, he said.
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Ukraine is also pressing for the urgent disbursement of the first tranche of a €90 billion (US$106 billion or $134.65 billion) EU loan, Kachka said. Hungary has been blocking the payouts over halted Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba oil pipeline, which Moscow damaged during a January airstrike in Ukraine.
Hungary insists that Ukraine must restart the oil flows before it can receive any loan payments. Ukraine will soon announce that oil is pumping again, Kachka said.
Unblocking the loan is vital because part of the money will be used to pay for critical military expenses, Kachka said. Kyiv hopes to receive the funds sooner than a previous deadline in June with support from EU member states, he added.
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“It’s literally a mater of life and death, so we need this money as soon as possible,” Kachka said.
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