France, Poland, Spain, do not see agriculture as blocking further EU progress for Ukraine

LUXEMBOURG — Three of the EU's largest member states, France, Poland, and Spain, said on Oct. 13 they want Ukraine's EU accession process to continue and that Kyiv's strong farming sector should not be used to slow membership talks.

Ukraine is partway through unlocking the six to-do lists of reforms it must complete to join the EU, but one of the as-yet unopened lists covers agriculture.

The sheer size of Kyiv's agricultural sector raises concerns among EU farmers, who are less competitive and heavily dependent on subsidies, and who fear that Ukraine joining the EU will drive them out of business.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has already leaned on farmers' fears about Ukraine as the French elections near.

"There are member states that have a lot of doubts," said Poland's European Affairs Minister Ignacy Niemczycki, ahead of a meeting of European affairs ministers in Luxembourg, though he did not name specific countries.

But France, Poland, and Spain all said they support Ukraine being able to advance its EU membership bid.

Spain's European Affairs Minister Fernando Sampedro told the Kyiv Independent that "we really hope that in the case of Ukraine and Moldova we will be able to open all clusters as soon as possible."

"The earlier the better, so that we can accompany the strong efforts that both governments are doing," Sampedro said.

French European Affairs Minister Benjamin Haddad commended Ukraine for passing a bill on minorities the day before, which persuaded Hungary to lift its block on membership talks.

"We support the opening of all negotiation clusters with Ukraine and Moldova... I think now it is time to move forward," Haddad said.

Later on Oct. 13, Ukraine will unlock clusters two and three, which cover a wide range of economic reforms. It had already opened clusters addressing the rule of law and external relations earlier in the year.

When asked by the Kyiv Independent if Ukraine is ready to open the final two, Haddad replied, "I support that."

Niemczycki told journalists that "opening a cluster does not mean closing it," and explained that opening clusters is required for negotiations to take place.

"This is a very good moment, because we can tell our friends from Ukraine to enter the EU. To get closer, you have to do this, this, and this," Niemczycki said.

He also said that Polish business is "open to competition, but they want Ukraine to follow the same rules," which, for him, means Ukraine aligning with the EU.

Other countries likewise spoke in favor of progressing Ukraine's EU membership bid, such as Germany and Finland, which, like Poland, see Ukraine's joining as a geopolitical asset.

"We are absolutely not afraid of Ukrainian agriculture," Finnish European Affairs Minister Joakim Strand told the Kyiv Independent.

"We think that Ukraine is doing an excellent job when it comes to defending Europe today, and we hope and believe that the future of Ukraine is within the European Union," Strand said.