Prospects for the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the context of EU integration – study tour to Brussels
Today marks the end of a delegation's tour to Brussels from May 20-22, 2025, as part of the German-Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Dialogue (APD) implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH. The aim was to shed light on key challenges and prospects for the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the context of European integration and to discuss concrete preparatory steps for the upcoming negotiation process with the EU.
The APD Ukraine is funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH) and implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH as the lead partner in a consortium with GOPA AFC GmbH and the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO). In organizing the trip, APD Ukraine was supported by Dr. Stefan Dreesmann, project manager of the “German-Ukrainian Cooperation in Organic Agriculture (COA)” project funded by the BMLEH and jointly implemented by GOPA AFC and IAK.
The 15-strong delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the Agriculture Committee of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the State Agency for Food Safety and Consumer Protection and leading agricultural associations such as the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB), the Ukrainian Agrarian Council (UAC) and the Farmers' Union. Experts from the APD, the German Food Bridge (GFB), the GFA Consulting Group GmbH, the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute and the IAK were also present.
The focus was on direct exchanges with central EU institutions and interest groups. The delegation held talks with the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) and with Members of the European Parliament. The representations of the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the EU were also visited. Civil society organizations such as Eurogroup for Animals were also part of the programme. A particular highlight was the joint dinner with the Moldovan delegation as part of the German-Moldovan Agricultural Policy Dialogue, which was also sponsored by the BMLEH and served to promote bilateral exchange and networking.
During the talks, the Ukrainian delegation presented the current status of the reform processes in the agricultural sector – in particular legal developments, institutional changes and progress in converging with EU standards in the areas of agricultural policy and trade, governance and food safety. The presentation of a modeling study by the Thünen Institute for Market Analysis, which examined future developments in Ukrainian agricultural trade taking into account European framework conditions, also played a central role.
Important discussion partners included Herbert Dorfmann (Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development), Vincent Cordonnier (DG AGRI), Dr. Anna zu Knyphausen (Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the EU), Verena Hedtke (Head of Division at the BMLEH), Christoph Gilgen (BMLEH), Friederike Staat (Head of the European Agricultural Policy Unit at the Representation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia to the EU), Prof. Dr. Martin Banse (Head of the Thünen Institute for Market Analysis) as well as Inês Grenho Ajuda and Valentyna Vozna (both Eurogroup for Animals).
The trip made a significant contribution to deepening mutual understanding: the participants not only gained valuable insights into the institutional and political processes of the EU, but were also able to learn about the structures and special features of Ukrainian agriculture.
The trip also provided important impetus for bringing the agricultural sector closer to the EU, strengthened partnerships and underlined the importance of continuous dialogue between Ukraine, Germany and the EU – especially in the run-up to concrete accession negotiations.