You're reading: Poroshenko: Agreement on association and FTA with EU could be ratified in late 2012 or early 2013

Ukraine could fulfill all of the conditions for the signing and ratification of the association agreement, including the creation of a free trade area (FTA), with the European Union (EU) in late 2012 or early 2013, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said.

“This [the signing and ratification] could be done in late 2012 or early 2013. Only one condition is needed for this – political will,” he told journalists in Kyiv on Friday.

Poroshenko said that the technical tasks that should be worked out by the Ukrainian side are currently “absolutely feasible.”

“I’m a Euro-optimist, and I’m confident that Ukraine is currently able to meet all of the commitments it assumed while developing and agreeing the conditions of the association agreement. We’re talking about the harmonization of legislation, the level of standards and the creation of respective positions of the investment climate and respective standards of democracy,” he added.

As reported, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton have said they believe that the Ukrainian authorities should immediately stop the selective prosecution of political opponents in order to sign and ratify the association agreement.

Ukraine and the EU completed the initialing of the agreement on the creation of a free trade area in Brussels on July 19.