Ukraine Reconfirms Association With the EU Integration as Top Priority

KYIV, Ukraine, May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The European integration will remain the country's top priority in the foreign policy agenda. This was adopted by the Ukrainian Parliament among its foreign policy recommendations with respect to creation of the Free Trade Zone with the EU and Customs Union with Russia.

As it is stated in the recommendations, the European integration is defined as one of the foreign policy priorities. The main short-term goal, according to the document, is the signing of the Free-Trade Agreement being integral part of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. At the same time, Ukraine will develop economic and trade relationships with all other foreign states based on mutual interests and according to the key principles of Ukraine's foreign policy.

According to the document, the Parliament is recommended to enhance the activity aimed at bringing the Ukrainian legislation in compliance with the respective legislation of the European Union, as well as the key principles of the World Trade Organization, in which Ukraine is a member since 2009. At the same time the Parliament will have to adopt legislative measures that would prevent any norms that don't comply with the European law from being adopted.

The track record of the latest success in the EU-Ukraine relations includes the adoption of the Visa Free Regime Action plan in November 2010, besides the significant progress in the Association Talks. During the last meetings of the Head of the European Commission Jose Emmanuel Barroso with the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the Prime Minister Mykola Azarov it was noted that 90 percent of positions in the Free Trade Agreement had been agreed upon. Consequently, both parties plan for the Association Agreement to be signed by the end of 2011.

As it came in the most recent statement of Raisa Bohatyriova, the Secretary of the National Defense and Security Council, Ukraine plans to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union in December this year. Such statement became a result of her meeting with her Polish counterpart Sanislav Kozey. Notably, Poland will preside in the European Union in the second half of the current year.