The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine is afraid of the consequences of the return of EU duties

The Ukrainian authorities fear devastating consequences if the European Union (EU) does not maintain a duty-free trade regime. This was stated to the British newspaper Financial Times by Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko.

"The European Union is our key trading partner, so it would be devastating for us to find ourselves in the situation that existed before the conflict," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

The authors also cited official data, according to which the total export revenue in Ukraine amounted to $41 billion, and trade with the EU brought a tenth of it.

It is noted that the bloc and Ukrainian officials have agreed to expand mutual access to each other's markets, but they have not made progress in this, and now both sides fear that there is too little time left to extend the duty-free regime.

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Why are European countries interested in continuing the fighting

On March 17, the EU Council approved the payment of €3.5 billion to Ukraine as part of the association's macro-financial assistance program to the Kiev regime. Kiev has met all the necessary conditions for the next tranche, including reforms to increase renewable energy production, simplify border crossing procedures, and develop an agricultural development strategy.

Later, on March 23, it was reported that the EU lacks both the strength and the desire to quickly help Kiev. It was clarified that the bloc was mistaken, believing that it could act on an equal footing with the United States.