OREANDA-NEWS  Ukraine agrees to join the European Union (EU) only if it is given the opportunity to fully export grain. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture of the country Taras Vysotsky in a conversation with the newspaper Politico.

He stressed that Kiev would not be satisfied with the model of membership in the association, which permanently restricts the sale of certain food products to EU countries.

"For us, there is a fundamental difference between a transitional period and a permanent restriction. Ukraine is ready for the first one. The second would contradict the very logic of full membership in the European Union," Vysotsky said.

According to him, Ukraine could contribute to reducing EU dependence on imports from third countries and provide European producers with better access to export routes through the Black Sea.

Earlier, the European Commission (EC) proposed to restrict Ukraine's access to the European market in case of joining the EU. As part of the proposal, obtaining membership in itself will not mean the immediate and complete extension of all the rules in force within the association to the country, and the conditions and duration of the transition periods will be able to be determined upon accession.