Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has sent to the European Commission its proposals how to settle the situation with a ban on round timber exports from Ukraine, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has said.

The proposals have been sent to the European Commission, he said. The Commission is considering them. This is a complicated issue. We jointly with Ukrainian partners are working to find solution, he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Mingarelli said that the EU is waiting that Ukraine would annul a ban on timber exports. The EU is expecting that the issue of resuming social payments to internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be also settled. The EU intends to provide a new tranche of macro-financial assistance.

These two issues could be settled rather quickly, he said.

On April 9, 2015 the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill banning exports of round timber for 10 years. The timber exports ban, apart from pine, was introduced on November 1, 2015 and as for pine it will be introduced on January 1, 2017.

Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade - Trade Representative of Ukraine Natalia Mykolska said on May 17, 2016 that Ukraine should as soon as possible settle the issue of trade with unprocessed timber, as the ban on its exports hinders the provision of the second and third tranche of macro-financial assistance in the amount of EUR 1.2 billion by the EU.

On November 15, 2016, Maria Ionova, deputy head of the parliamentary committee on European integration, said that the Ukrainian government is drawing up a bill on round timber exports. Soon the document would be registered in parliament.