Ukrainian farmers to master European requirements, become part of European agricultural community no later than 2035 – opinion

Ukraine will become a member of the European Union no later than 2035. Over the next 10 years, the Ukrainian agricultural sector will be transformed accordingly and become part of the European agricultural community, particularly the dairy sector, said Alex Lissitsa, President of the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club (UCAB) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the IMC agroholding.

"We firmly believe that we will become a member of the European Union no later than 2035. We have 10 years to adapt and transform our economy, transforming our dairy sector, including ours, into a new format so that it is ready to become part of European society," he said at the workshop dubbed "Ukraine's Dairy Sector: Promoting Sustainability, Sustainable Development, and European Integration," which took place as part of the ANUGA-2025 exhibition in Cologne.

Lissitsa noted that Ukrainians have three advantages: they are very good, highly educated, and remarkably flexible in their learning. This means that Ukrainian farmers will be ready for EU membership, despite the highly competitive nature of their agricultural sector.

He noted that Russian aggression takes various forms and is directed not only at people and equipment, but also at livestock.

"Unfortunately, approximately 1 million livestock have been slaughtered in Ukraine over the past four years ... In particular, the IMC agricultural holding lost a dairy farm with 1,000 livestock. But we believe in Ukraine's future. Despite the losses, we will restore the livestock. And this will be the key to the future of Ukraine's dairy sector," the UCAB president concluded.