Tuesday, July 21, 2015

A look at the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement


A look at the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

Kiev © Flickr/Ivan BanduraKiev © Flickr/Ivan Bandura
In 2014 the European Union and Ukraine signed an Association Agreement (AA) that constitutes a new state in the development of EU-Ukraine contractual relations, aiming at political association and economic integration.
After signing the political chapters of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement at the EU Summit of 21 March 2014, both parties signed the remaining sections of the Association Agreement on 27 June 2014. The Association Agreement will enter into force once all EU Member States, in addition to Ukraine, have ratified it.
The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement replaced the EU-Ukraine Partnership and Cooperation Agreement as the legal basis and framework for EU-Ukraine relations. The AA provides for a shared commitment to a close and lasting relationship based on common values, in particular full respect for democratic principles, rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The AA includes provisions for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). The DCFTA offers Ukraine a framework for modernising its trade relations and for economic development by the opening of markets via the progressive removal of customs tariffs and quotas, and by an extensive harmonisation of laws, norms and regulations in various trade-related sectors. This will create the conditions for aligning key sectors of the Ukrainian economy to EU standards.
The implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, while not constituting the final goal of EU-Ukraine cooperation, will bring opportunities for sustainable economic development and prosperity to all the regions of Ukraine, as well as to its neighbours.

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