German farmers raise alarm over agro-giant Ukraine's EU bid

In light of the European Union eyeing accession talks with Ukraine, the German farmers' union has raised the alarm and voiced its concerns that Ukraine's potential membership could lead to the decline of family farming in Europe.

As reported by Euractiv, the President of the German Farmers' Association (DBV), Joachim Rukwied, expressed apprehension about the impact on the agricultural sector following the European Commission's recommendation to initiate formal accession talks with Ukraine.

Rukwied highlighted Ukraine's extensive agricultural sector, noting that the average farm size in the country is significantly larger than in the EU. He argued that integrating Ukraine into the EU would mean incorporating an agricultural sector with vastly different structures, including farms of several hundred thousand hectares. According to Rukwied, this situation would render a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that includes Ukraine unfeasible unless it comes at the expense of farms in existing EU countries.

In particular, the DBV president suggested that the direct payments, paid to farms per hectare of agricultural land, may not be financially viable for the large areas of Ukraine.

The German Agriculture Ministry, however, has advocated for using Ukraine's potential accession as an opportunity to fundamentally reform the CAP, moving away from unconditional area payments.

The government in Kyiv argues that Ukraine's entry into the EU would strengthen the bloc's agricultural sector and enhance its global role. A recent study by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies suggested that the Ukrainian agricultural sector would not become a burden on the CAP, as it is competitive even without large subsidies, although it is considered "too competitive" in certain aspects compared to other EU countries.