Plenary session: EU-Ukraine Agreement amending the trade preferences for poultry meat

EU-Ukraine Agreement amending the trade preferences for poultry meat and poultry meat preparations provided for by the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (A9-0024/2019 - Enikő Győri)

I voted against concluding this agreement, because it appears to be a precarious solution to a serious problem of commercial fraud.

The European Union (EU), by increasing the TRQ from 20,000 tonnes per year to 50,000 as a way to discourage Ukraine from looking for alternatives (in this case, changing the way meat is prepared) in order to export its products to the EU , is condoning fraud and generalizing the idea that Europe tolerates commercial fraud and that it has the flexibility to adapt to the commercial ambitions of third countries.
In addition, the agreement does not provide for any improvement in terms of trade restrictions that protect the welfare of animals exploited by this industry. DG SANTE reports have already revealed that Ukraine has several shortcomings in the transposition of EU animal welfare legislation. However, wrongly, this agreement does not present concrete steps for Ukraine to bring its animal welfare legislation closer to that of the EU, either in technical terms or through financial aid.

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