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that by 2030, Ukraine's population could become one of the oldest in Europe, potentially settling around 30-35mn.
2.7 Politics - misc
● International Politics
Grain embargo: five EU countries are ready to compromise with Ukraine, but Moldova protests. Ukraine's five bordering EU countries are prepared to consider the mechanism of joint verification and approval of supplies proposed by Ukraine, Ukrainian Trade Representative Taras Kachka said. "We have presented a plan to control the export of agricultural products to all neighboring states. We have a good response from Romania and Bulgaria. The other three countries, including Poland, are also already giving positive signals," Kachka explained. However, Moldova farmers began to demand a ban on the import of sunflowers from Ukraine. At the same time, Moldova’s Ministry of Agricultural Policy stated that no such imports are coming into the country. The President of Ukraine is also working to solve the grain issue on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in NY. He met with the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Maria Gabriel, to discuss the possibility of providing free access to Ukrainian agricultural products to EU countries. At the meeting, the parties agreed on creating the Joint Coordination Platform for Export and Transit of Ukrainian Agricultural Products.
Romania and Slovakia agreed to the grain trade system and lifted their bans. Ukraine and Romania will jointly develop a grain export control plan that will help protect Romanian farmers. This work will continue for the next 30 days. In particular, the Ukrainian side offered the European Commission and five neighboring countries an export control plan for wheat, corn, sunflower, and rapeseed. On September 19, Bucharest approved the introduction export licenses for several agricultural products. They will take effect in 30 days. Romania will also create a clear import licensing procedure for Romanian farmers and processors during this time. The country will issue import licenses only to domestic farmers and processors who need to replenish stocks, not to middlemen. The Ministers of Agriculture of Slovakia and Ukraine also agreed to launch a grain trade licensing system. In addition, Ukraine decided to rescind its complaint against Slovakia that was submitted to the WTO.
The EU is against simplified accession for Ukraine, even if Kyiv agrees to negotiate with Russia to end the war. As stated by the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, joining the EU is a long process, within which the candidate country must modify its infrastructure and take other measures, following the established requirements. "We will do everything to help Ukraine complete everything as quickly as possible, but without skipping any stages," he said. According to him, the EU should facilitate the start of negotiations on the end of the war with the help of other measures, such as increasing the production of weapons and ensuring military parity between Russia and Ukraine. "To start the negotiations, we must give Ukraine opportunities to decide a dialogue at the right moment for itself," Breton explained. So far, Kyiv has fulfilled two of the seven conditions necessary to start accession negotiations: reforming the High Council of Justice and the High Qualifications Commission of Judges and adopting a law on mass media.
15 UKRAINE Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com