France has decided to join Poland in demanding further restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, threatening to disrupt negotiations on extending Kyiv's free trade with the EU for another year. Politico reports this with reference to three European diplomats.

It is noted that French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met on Friday at the Weimar Triangle summit in Berlin, where they called for support for Ukraine.

At the same time, the two leaders also agreed to come up with a joint position on new restrictions on the supply of Ukrainian products to the EU, an issue that will be discussed at a summit of European leaders in Brussels on Tuesday.

According to Politico, the restrictions insisted on by Paris and Warsaw could cost the Ukrainian economy €1.2 billion in lost revenue.

"This is a huge cut for a country that needs all the help it can get. The member states that demonstrate their support for Ukraine the most are also doing the most damage to the country," said one of the diplomats. 

The publication says that the position of France and Poland is intended to calm farmers, who have repeatedly held protests in recent months, in particular against the supply of cheap food from Ukraine and complicated bureaucratic procedures.

The European Commission has recently proposed to limit the supply of Ukrainian sugar, chicken and eggs to the EU, but leave exports of other agricultural products unrestricted. However, according to Politico, Poland (and now France) insist on imposing limits on exports of Ukrainian cereals and honey to the EU.