News in brief: A leaked EU document reveals that if Ukraine joined the EU, it would become the largest recipient of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding, displacing France, and lead to a 20.3% reduction in CAP payments per hectare for existing recipients over seven years.
A leaked EU document has revealed that if Ukraine joined the European Union (EU), it would displace France as its single largest recipient of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funding.
In addition, it would result in a 20.3% cut in CAP payments per hectare of qualifying farmland for existing recipients over seven years.
The document, which was prepared by the EU’s Council secretariat over the summer, was reported by the Financial Times. The British daily business newspaper detailed the cost of adding Ukraine to the EU system under current rules.
Ukraine has 41.1 million hectares of utilised agricultural area, making it an agricultural giant. Under current CAP rules, it would be entitled to â¬96.5 billion in payments over seven years. This would mean a significant cut for existing CAP recipients, who have already seen their payments reduced in recent years.
Ukraine’s EU membership bid could cost â¬257 billion, the report said. The country has pushed for its EU membership application to be advanced as soon as possible and for accession negotiations to begin before the end of the year.
The leaked EU document revealed that expanding the EU to include nine aspirant countries would cost â¬256.8 billion of the EU’s budget. This will increase the size of the current budget by 21%.
In June 2022, Ukraine receieved an European Union candidate status but it is not a member yet. It still has to finanlise the accession process first, which involves discussions on various policy areas and the adoption of EU legislation. In addition, the country has to harmonise its laws and regulations with that of the EU as well.
However, its importance to global food security has made Ukraine a regular feature in talks about international trade in Europe. It has also received financial aid from the EU and several member states.
