Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union has approved a mandate for negotiations with Ukraine on the extension of the Agreement on the Liberalization of Freight Transport, which will allow Ukraine to continue freight transportation without permits until at least June 2025.

The EU Council has adopted new labeling rules for honey, fruit juices, jams and milk powder to increase transparency of product origin, help consumers make informed choices and reduce food fraud.

EU agriculture ministers plan to increase the maximum amount of minimum state aid to €50,000 per farm for three years to support the agricultural sector amid ongoing market turmoil.

Ukraine could introduce mandatory blending of liquid biofuels with gasoline to promote the use of renewable energy sources in transportation.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against Russian media and those responsible for spreading disinformation and propaganda in the EU as part of efforts to counter Russian interference in the upcoming EU elections.

EU Diplomacy Chief Josep Borrell expects the EU Council to finalize the discussion on the use of funds from seized Russian assets for military support to Ukraine through the European Peace Fund, as the bloc believes it is legally justified.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Andriy Umerov said that air defense systems are crucial to protecting Ukrainian skies from massive Russian attacks, including the unprecedented use of 1. 5-ton guided bombs. Air defense will also allow Ukrainian troops to repel Russian aggression and force them to retreat.

EU ministers discussed but failed to approve a €500 million tranche of military aid to Ukraine due to the ongoing blockade, despite changing circumstances.

The European Council strongly condemned Russia's air and missile attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, emphasized the urgent need to ensure Ukraine's air defense, and called for the accelerated and intensified provision of all necessary military assistance, including artillery ammunition and missiles.

EU Chief Diplomat Josep Borrell said that the EU is working to improve Ukraine's air defense capabilities.

The European Commission has approved the Ukraine Plan for 2024-2027, paving the way for regular and predictable EU support to help Ukraine meet its urgent budgetary needs, carry out recovery and reconstruction, and ensure macro-financial stability.

The European Commission plans to disburse €1. 5 billion to Ukraine in April and is expected to disburse another €1.9 billion in May, subject to certain conditions, as part of a €50 billion program for Ukraine.

The European Union has approved criminal penalties, including imprisonment and fines, for helping to circumvent EU sanctions, such as travel bans, trade in sanctioned goods, or prohibited financial activities.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo said that Belgium supports the training of Ukrainian pilots for F-16s and hopes that the first delivery will take place in May, but Belgium still needs the F-16s themselves until they are replaced by F-35s.

The European Parliament approved the reform of the EU electricity market aimed at reducing the dependence of electricity prices on fossil fuel prices, accelerating the introduction of renewable energy sources and protecting consumers from price spikes.

The European Parliament refuses to "release" the budget of the EU Council until a decision is made to provide Ukraine with additional Patriot missile defense systems.

The EU has agreed to extend the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU until June 5, 2025, while strengthening safeguards for sensitive agricultural products such as poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, corn, cereals, and honey.

Ukraine and Poland agree on five steps to unblock the border, including restrictions on exports of Ukrainian agricultural products, an EU review of agricultural policy and transport, a ban on exports of Russian and Belarusian agricultural products to the EU, the creation of an anti-crisis headquarters, and permission to transit fuel across the border.

The EU law on critical raw materials is aimed at diversifying sources of supply of critical raw materials, not at confronting China, according to a European official.

Ukraine will lose millions in potential profits due to new EU restrictions on duty-free imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, which take into account the reduced imports from the second half of 2021.

EU ambassadors will again try to approve the extension of the duty-free trade agreement with Ukraine with a compromise proposal to increase restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to balance support for Ukraine and protection of EU farmers.

Russian propaganda channels are spreading fake information about the alleged deportation of more than 813,000 Ukrainians from the EU due to mass protests, but this claim is not true, and the screenshot used to confirm it is fabricated.

During a meeting of the EU Council on Agriculture, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solsky debunked negative myths that the Ukrainian agricultural sector has no economic basis, emphasizing Ukraine's ability to withstand and win the war with Russia.

The European Business Association notes that the situation with the blocking of tax invoices by the State Tax Service has worsened since the end of February. The EBA suggests that instead of freezing business activities, the State Tax Service should conduct tax audits in case of questions about the activities of companies.

The Belgian presidency of the EU Council is working to find a compromise framework for renewing autonomous trade measures for Ukraine, with Italy proposing to extend the protection provisions until 2021 but exclude wheat, reducing the benefits for Ukraine from the original €2 billion to €1. 54 billion.

The European Commission proposes to raise tariffs on imports of grains, oilseeds and processed products from Russia and Belarus to the EU to prevent market destabilization, combat exports of misappropriated Ukrainian grain and deprive Russia of revenues it uses to finance its war against Ukraine.

EU ambassadors failed to approve the extension of trade liberalization measures for Ukraine on the eve of the summit of the bloc's leaders, due to concerns of some countries about the impact on their agricultural markets, and will discuss the issue at their next meeting next week.

During her visit to Ukraine, U. S. Senator Lindsey Graham met with Ukrainian parliamentarians to discuss Ukraine's efforts toward European integration.

The EU Council has decided to allocate an additional 5 billion euros for military support to Ukraine under the European Peace Fund, the Foreign Ministry reports.

The EU is considering approving a €5 billion fund to help Ukraine and using the excess profits from frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine's defense, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said.