Ukrainian employers federation calls for deepening economic integration between the European Union and Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine, April 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation of Employers of Ukraine has called on the leaders of Europe to accelerate Ukraine's integration with the EU in response to rising geopolitical tension. The organisation warns that campaigning from lobbyist and other interest groups have distorted the debate by framing Ukraine's agricultural sector as an existential threat to Europe's farmers.

Speaking following the tenth meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels Mykhailo Bno-Airiian, special trade representative of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, appealed to Europe's leaders to call out the false and misleading picture painted by lobbyists.

"We need a reset to change the established narrative that has framed the wider debate around bilateral economic relations between the EU and Ukraine to the topic of competition in agriculture. Such reductionism not only distorts the real picture but stands in the way of a deepening economic partnership that both sides will greatly benefit from.

"Closer economic, security and cultural links with Ukraine is clearly the best option for Europe's decisionmakers in response to growing geopolitical tension between east and west. Deepening economic integration with Ukraine will not only support the rules-based order but also presents huge opportunities for the EU to improve its international competitiveness in an increasingly challenging market. In a world highly saturated with geopolitical tensions we must not forget our mutual goals. Right now, it's especially important for the EU to set its priorities straight and remember to remain united for our shared strategic economic & political interests.

"The war has woven Ukraine even more deeply into the contours of the European common economic space and the EU has an institutional and moral interest in maintaining open and predictable access for Ukrainian products, which is the basis for further economic integration and jointly strengthening the single market. We cannot allow lobbying from interest groups, many of whom are sympathetic to President Putin, to continue to delay Ukraine's integration with the EU."