DISINFO: The EU obliges Ukraine and Georgia to sell land to foreign citizens
SUMMARY
The “secret clauses” of the Association Agreement with the European Union oblige Georgia, as well as Ukraine, to sell land to foreigners.
Before the presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the West could not make other governments of Ukraine sell land to foreigners, however, since 2019, millions of hectares of land have been sold in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation attempting to discredit Ukraine and Georgia's relations with the European Union.
Contrary to the claims, the Association Agreements of Georgia and Ukraine with the European Union do not include any “secret clauses” that impose conditions related to the alienation of land to foreigners. There are different regulations regarding the alienation of land in different EU member states.
In Ukraine, the sale of agricultural land to foreign citizens and companies is prohibited, and in 2019, Zelenskyy’s reforms concerned the disposal of Ukrainians’ own land, not alienation.
The claim that, since 2019, millions of hectares of land have been sold in Ukraine is false. The agricultural market in Ukraine opened on July 1st, 2021. According to the data of the State Service of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre of Ukraine, as of 23 October, 289,307 hectares of land have been alienated since this period. (Data is updated weekly).
Read the full debunk of this disinformation claim at Myth Detector.