The initiators of the meeting were the Director of the Office of the Polish Chamber of Milk Agnieszka Maliszewska and the Executive Director of the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine Didur Arsen.

Other participants

The meeting was attended by the representatives of the dairy sector: President of the Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders and Dairy Farmers Leszek Hądzlik, president of the Association of Polish Milk Processors (ZPPM) Marcin Hydzik, representative of the National Association Of Dairy Cooperatives Wiesław Żebrowski, representative of the National Dairymen’s Association (KSM) Jarosław Kowalik, Coordinator of the European Integration Committee in Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine (SMPU) Elisabeth Svyatkivska and Director General of the Association of Milk Producers Hanna Lavreniuk.

Memorandum establishing cooperation between the states

The highlight of the meeting was signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This document establishes the Polish and Ukrainian cooperation in the following aspects:

• promoting and supporting the ambitions of the Ukrainian dairy sector in the scope of harmonisation of its operation in line with the EU requirements by means of cooperation under the European Integration Committee (SMPU);
• preparing and providing to the administration and to the public of common positions, opinions and information on trading in dairy products, including in context of the future integration of Ukraine with the European Union;
• maintaining a continuous dialogue between the dairy sector representatives in Ukraine and Poland;
• expert participation in preparing a joint roadmap for the European integration of the Ukrainian dairy sector; this roadmap will include the specific steps, schedules and liabilities for their implementation, as well as monitoring and progress evaluation schemes.

Areas of cooperation

Under this Memorandum, the parties will cooperate in the following areas:

sharing experiences in the area of European integration of the Polish dairy industry with the Ukrainian sector;

• providing consultation and recommendations in the scope of harmonisation of the Ukrainian and EU legislation in the field of dairy industry;
• providing joint support to the concept of sectoral approach to the continued parity trading at the national and European level;
• providing mutual information on the current trends and amendments to the legislation of the parties operating in the dairy industry;
• establishing contacts and organising joint events in the Ukraine-Poland-EU format.

Importance of Memorandum

Signing the Memorandum sends a clear signal to the Polish and European administration and to our colleagues in the other EU countries that the Polish dairy sector is willing to play the leading role in the field of knowledge and information sharing in terms of our experience in the process of Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

– We need this type of cooperation. We should concentrate on exporting the products from Ukraine and Poland to the third markets and on building this potential together.  Poland has gained experience in this area: 20 years ago, when we accessed the European Union, we have also confronted with the countries already operating there. We both benefited from it and made use of the potential. In those days, the EU countries have also been afraid that Poland’s accession to the EU will pose a threat to these markets. The fact that it didn’t happen also provides an opportunity for cooperation – said Deputy Minister Stefan Krajewski.

In addition, the Secretary of State pointed out at our support and cooperation with Ukraine in many areas since the outbreak of war.

– We are aware of the long-term nature of this process. We know that there are many years before Ukraine to integrate, but we also want to speak out that if we are about to compete with each other, this must be made on equal principles. The production and processing conditions must be uniform. We want to cooperate, share information, knowledge and experience and together build our positions on the third country markets. This is what the Memorandum is among others about – said the Director of the Office of the Polish Chamber of Milk Agnieszka Maliszewska.

Such initiatives are extremely valuable for both countries. Since Poland and Ukraine are the important milk producers in Europe, the cooperation of both parties may help to boost trading and investments as well as to share knowledge and technologies. Joint activities may also enhance competitiveness of the dairy industry of both countries on the international market.

– Today, we export 6 times more milk to Ukraine than we import, so this market poses no threat to us. It is important to share reliable information and prevent any fake information and disinformation. We must build our joint relations with a view to the future – summed up the meeting Deputy Minister Krajewski.