The European Union set a three-month deadline for Ukraine to carry out changes to its justice and electoral systems in order to qualify for a free-trade agreement.
The 27-nation EU renewed its commitment to provide Ukraine with 610 million euros ($805 million) of aid, contingent on the former Soviet republic reaching an assistance agreement with the International Monetary Fund, according to a statement issued in Brussels today after an EU-Ukraine summit.
Ukraine, which resumes talks with the IMF next month on a third bailout since 2008, faces a shrinking economy and $10 billion of debt payments scheduled this year. The economy is in a recession after contracting 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
