Brussels, 13/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission and Ukraine consider that the content of the association agreement and free trade area (FTA) is more important than the timetable. Speaking before the press on Wednesday 13 October in Brussels, European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle and Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov retiterated their commitment to successfully conduct the talks but underlined that “substance is more important than date”. Azarov was in Brussels to take stock, with Füle, of the state of progress of talks on the association agreement and the “deep and comprehensive FTA”, which will be an integral part of the agreement. The last round of talks on the FTA was held last week in Kiev. “The meeting was constructive and today I am more optimistic than before” that talks will be completed “rather sooner than later”, Füle said. In a recent interview with EUROPE, the Ukrainian ambassador to the EU, Konstiantyn Yelisieiev, had said negotiation on the association agreement and the FTA could be completed “during the second half of 2011” (see EUROPE 10228). The head of the Ukrainian government also met the permanent president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, with whom he discussed preparation for the next EU-Ukraine summit on 22 November, in Brussels. He also met with the president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. Addressing the press, Füle confirmed that the “action plan” for waiving the visa requirement for Ukrainian citizens would be adopted during the summit. (H.B./transl.jl)