An agreement with the Customs Union is more promising for Ukraine than the Association Agreement with the EU, Director of the Ukrainian Office of the CIS Institute Volodymyr Kornilov has said.
“Ana agreement with the Customs Union has more prospects,” he said during the expert discussion entitled “Prospects of Ukraine’s Entering the Customs Union in the Context of the Ukraine-EU Summit” in Kyiv on Friday.
Talking about the results of the Ukraine-EU Summit, he said that Ukraine received “the next portion of declarations.” According to the expert, among the few practical benefits to Ukraine is the EU’s promise to provide EUR 610 million in credit.
“I dare to suggest that Ukraine won’t receive this credit in the near future,” the expert predicted.
“The moment for allocating this credit isn’t known, but it’s known that tranches will be separated by two years…The matter concerns promise to allocate money that will last until the presidential elections in Ukraine,” he said.
Kornilov also stressed that Association Agreement between Ukraine-EU “in this case brings just harm, and no benefit.”
According to writer of political essays Oleksandr Horohov, according to the agreement Ukraine will have no right to sell Europe excess gas and electric energy under higher prices that on the domestic market.
“The way-out is to work at a loss, or to hike prices on the domestic market,” the expert said.
He also added that “the agreement says nothing about a visa free regime, just that the visa free regime will ease.”
