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The European Commission and Ukraine inked Memorandum on Agriculture

Other News Materials 20 October 2006 12:45 (UTC +04:00)

(ForUm) - EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariann Fischer Boel, and Ukraine's Minister of Agricultural Policy, Yuriy Melnyk, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on agriculture at a ceremony in Brussels. The Memorandum will provide a structured framework for establishing consultation and cooperation mechanisms on agricultural issues, the EC Delegation in Ukraine press release out on Thursday reported.

"Ukraine is a key partner of the EU in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy and is also a major producer of agricultural products", said Commissioner Fischer Boel. "Ukraine can benefit from our experience in setting up and implementing agricultural and rural development policies. At the same time, the EU will benefit from an enhanced exchange of information on agricultural production and trade."

The Memorandum of Understanding will establish a new platform to discuss agricultural issues on a regular basis, as a complement to current institutional structures. This will improve mutual knowledge of the two sides' agricultural policies and contribute to the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Joint Action Plan under the European Neighbourhood Policy. Cooperation will assist Ukraine's convergence to international production and trade standards and provide a starting point for introducing agricultural and rural development aspects into the work towards a new Enhanced Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, reports Trend.

Ukraine's role in international organisations dealing with agriculture is constantly increasing; this new dialogue will allow the two sides to coordinate, when necessary, their respective policies at such international fora.

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