Brussels, 25 May 2023 (dpa/MIA) – Customs duties on imports from Ukraine into the European Union are to remain suspended for a further year, EU member states agreed in Strasbourg on Thursday in voting for an extension to the relevant trade measures.

"By renewing these measures the EU is continuing to demonstrate its unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine, which is still facing Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression," the Council of Ministers said in a statement.

"The measures will help Ukraine to maintain the stability of its trade relations with the EU and to keep its economy going under very challenging circumstances," it added.

The suspension was introduced in the middle of last year in reaction to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and has now been extended to June 2024.

The extension was not without controversy. Eastern EU member states, including Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania, objected to a significant increase in imports of food and animal feed from Ukraine.

Their farmers saw themselves as exposed to unfair competition. In response the European Commission announced additional financial aid to the countries affected.