EU agrees to postpone provisional application of the trade part of the Association Agreement with Ukraine

On 16 September 2014, the European Commission announced that the EU agreed to postpone provisional application of the trade part of the Association Agreement with Ukraine. The European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Klimkin and Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Ulyukayev issued a Joint Statement on 12 September on the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) which was ratified by both the European and Ukraine Parliaments on 16 September 2014.

To be able to fully support the stabilisation of Ukraine, the Commission is ready, in the event that Ukraine ratifies the Association Agreement with the EU, to propose additional flexibility. Such flexibility will consist in delaying until 31 December 2015 the provisional application of the DCFTA while continuing autonomous trade measures of the EU to the benefit of Ukraine during this period.

The decision was taken as part of a comprehensive peace process in Ukraine and in order to support the stabilisation of the country. In this context, Ukraine will continue to have privileged access to the EU market. On the other hand, Russia and Ukraine confirmed that they will continue to apply the CIS-FTA preferential regime.

The meeting held on Friday was a follow-up to the trilateral ministerial meeting that took place on 11 July 2014 in Brussels and the highest political level that took place in Minsk on 26 August 2014.

Press briefing by Commissioner Karel De Gucht