European Commission commented on a possible Ukraine-US minerals deal

The European Commission does not rule out that the future agreement between Ukraine and the United States on mineral resources may need to be considered from the point of view of relations between Ukraine and the EU and, in particular, from the point of view of accession negotiations. This was stated at a briefing on Friday by European Commission spokeswoman Paula Piñho, writes UNN.

We are not aware of any specific request in this regard. However, it was conveyed that such an agreement may need to be considered from the point of view of relations between Ukraine and the EU and, in particular, from the point of view of accession negotiations.

When asked whether they are analyzing how this potential agreement may affect Ukraine's ambitions to join the EU and in accordance with the Association Agreement, Piñho said that "we have heard about discussions regarding a possible agreement on mineral resources (...) But we cannot make any assessments until there is such a specific agreement.".

When asked whether the European Commission is in dialogue with Kyiv to help understand how this potential agreement may affect its ambitions to join the EU and the Association Agreement, whether there is any dialogue regarding this particular agreement, the spokeswoman of the European Commission noted that "we are in contact with Ukraine, with the Ukrainian authorities from various departments at all levels, practically on a daily basis."

"And, therefore, if there is also an interest on the part of Ukraine to receive our assessment or opinion on this matter, we are, of course, open to provide it, this assistance, to make such a contribution," said Piñho.

She also clarified that "we communicate daily on various aspects of policy, this does not mean that it necessarily concerns this particular topic," when asked what position the EU takes in such negotiations.

Commenting on whether Ukraine has requested assistance or guidance regarding the mineral agreement regarding the impact on the accession process, or whether this has not been officially discussed in a structured dialogue with Ukraine, Piñho noted that "we are not aware of any specific issue in this regard."

What is known about the progress of the agreement

On March 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the United States has offered Ukraine a new version of the agreement on mineral resources, which will provide for ratification by the Verkhovna Rada.

On March 26, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that the US has submitted a document on economic partnership to Ukraine for consideration and does not rule out the possibility of signing an agreement as early as next week.

On March 28, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko reported that Ukraine has indeed received the text of the agreement from the United States. This agreement with the US - on the establishment of an economic recovery fund (known as the agreement on mineral resources) - is, according to her, at the stage of discussion.

On March 27, Zelenskyy noted that there is still no final version of the mineral resources agreement from the United States. The USA is constantly changing the terms of the agreement.

Initially, the agreement was planned to be signed at the end of February during the visit of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington. But against the backdrop of a dispute during the meeting between the presidents in the Oval Office, the signing did not take place.

What's in the agreement

Prior to that, on March 27, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak noted that the document, dated March 23, which was sent by the American side, states that it concerns the extraction of all minerals on the entire territory of Ukraine - "that is, oil and gas there", by both state and private companies, and 5 people will participate in the management of the agreement: 3 of them from the United States with full veto power. The MP stressed that the document is not final.

The proposal for a new, larger agreement from the US to Ukraine was confirmed on March 27 by Reuters, citing three sources.

The sources said that the US has revised its initial proposal and it does not provide Ukraine with security guarantees in the future, but requires it to contribute all revenues from the use of natural resources managed by state and private enterprises throughout Ukraine to a joint investment fund.

According to the summary, the proposal does not mention that the United States will become the owner of Ukrainian nuclear power plants, as Trump said.

US National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt declined to confirm the terms of the latest proposal, but said the deal would strengthen US-Ukraine relations. "The Mineral Resources Agreement gives Ukraine the opportunity to forge strong economic relations with the United States, which are the foundation for long-term security and peace," Hewitt said.

The new proposal stipulates that the United States receives priority rights to purchase resources extracted under the agreement and that they return all the money they gave Ukraine since 2022, in addition to a 4% annual interest rate, before Ukraine begins to access the fund's profits, according to the summary.

If an agreement is reached, the board of the joint investment fund will consist of five people, three of whom will be appointed by the United States and two by Ukraine, and the collected funds will be converted into foreign currency and transferred abroad, the summary says. The fund will be managed by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).