EU urges Ukraine to speed up ratification of Association Agreement

Published July 17, 2014 at 10:26 am

(From L) European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and European Union Council President Herman Van Rompuy pose as they attend a EU Summit held at the EU Council building in Brussels, on June 27, 2014. Poroshenko said the June 27, 2014 signing of an association accord with the EU marked a \"historic day\" that offered his ex-Soviet country a fresh start after years of political instability. AFP PHOTO / THIERRY CHARLIER

Photo by AFP

The European Council, in its decision adopted in Brussels on July 16, has emphasized the importance of the ratification by Kyiv of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, Deutsche Welle has reported.

The EU summit participants welcomed the holding of trilateral
consultations at ministerial level between Ukraine, Russia and the
European Union on July 11 on the implementation of the Association
Agreement.

According to the decision, the European Council also supports the
setting up of a consultation mechanism to address potential difficulties
resulting from the effects of the implementation of a deep and
comprehensive free trade area on the implementation of the free trade
agreement of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The creation of a deep and comprehensive free trade area between the
EU and Ukraine is a major point of the agreement signed by Kyiv and
Brussels in late June.