Latvia’s President Rinkēvičs: Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations to be extremely difficult.

According to Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs, the negotiation process on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the European Union will be extremely difficult. However, he believes that it is "quite possible" to start negotiations as early as June this year.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, Censor.NET informs.

He noted that Ukraine's accession to the EU could mean significant changes in the bloc's economy, particularly in agriculture. The politician also noted that EU membership implies a lot of responsibilities.

"EU membership also means quite a few responsibilities, and in a country that is currently at war, it is certainly not easy to carry out reforms or transformations. So I think that yes, we need to give Ukraine and Moldova a positive signal in June that we are starting negotiations," Rinkēvičs said.

Read more: We call on EU to start accession talks with Ukraine - statement by the Baltic presidents Karis, Nausėda and Rinkēvičs

The Latvian president added that issues related to reforms of the state apparatus and environmental protection requirements could be quite difficult. In addition, the politician noted that many heated discussions could arise, especially regarding agriculture.

"Yes, we need to start talking about specific things, but we have to take into account that this process will not be easy, because there will be a lot of disputes, for example, about agriculture," the Latvian president said.

Read more: Borrell: Ukraine has historic window of opportunity to link its future with EU

Earlier it was reported that the European Commission has started an official screening of the negotiating chapter 11 "Agriculture and Rural Development" in preparation for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU.