The Kyiv Post is publishing the association agreement initialed earlier this year between the European Union and Ukraine. The agreement has not yet been signed and ratified, steps needed to the agreement to fully enter into force.
The agreement is composed
of a political part and another involving a deep and comprehensive
free trade agreement, which will pave the way for a free trade zone
between the EU and Ukraine.
If signed and ratified by
all parties, the agreement will move Ukraine closer joining the
27-member union, which is Ukraine’s foreign policy priority. It will
also put Ukraine on a clear path of European integration.
The agreement, in
particular, points out that “the
European Union acknowledges the European aspirations of Ukraine and
welcomes its European choice.”
One
of the aims of the agreement is “to promote gradual rapprochement
between the parties based on common values and close and privileged
links,” reads the nearly 1,000-page document. It also aims for
closer economic ties, Ukraine’s integration in the EU internal market
and sets a goal of “reinforcing the rule of law and the respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
In
order to be signed by the EU, Ukraine has to meet several
preconditions. These were free and fair Oct. 28
parliamentary elections, solving the problem of selective justice and
returning to the path of economic reforms.
The text was obtained an
unofficial source who requested anonymity because of lack of
authorization to make the document public.
