Brussels, 05/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Karel De Gucht has been strenuously defending the cause of the association agreement between the EU and the countries of the Eastern Partnership, as a vector for economic integration between the two regions. The European trade commissioner wants the future bilateral agreement for a free-trade zone with Ukraine to be a model for all of the Union's neighbour countries to the East.
In De Gucht's view, the future association agreement between the EU and its Eastern neighbours - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine - will offer a level of ambition never previously achieved in terms of involvement on a political level. They will also have a concrete impact on the lives of businesses and citizens in these countries, with their coverage of most aspects of economic life, from consumer protection to corporate law, via environmental protection, education and training, the commissioner announced at a seminar on trade and civil society, held in Warsaw on 4 October. As with the case of Ukraine, these agreements will include a major trade plank - a deep and comprehensive free-trade area, known as a DCFTA - which will be a key factor for integration between the European economy and those of the neighbouring countries. “The agreement we are likely to conclude soon with Ukraine may well become a model for the whole of the Eastern Partnership”, he stressed.
De Gucht went on to state that the scope of the agreement under discussion with Ukraine goes beyond those of the classic free-trade agreements, which are largely based on a mutual opening-up of the markets for goods and services, and the abolition of import duty. This agreement extends to obstacles behind the borders: and in the case of Ukraine, these are sanitary standards for meat and dairy products, which the EU wishes to bring into line with its own. Additionally, the agreement with Ukraine covers modern issues, such as access to public procurement and competition. “We want to create a modern, transparent and predictable environment for consumers, investors and businessmen on both sides. And beyond the truly free-trade zone created with Ukraine, this approximation process with the EU will offer Ukraine a pattern for its necessary economic reforms as well as becoming more economically integrated into the European internal market”, stated the commissioner, who went on to express his hopes of opening very soon, “once the conditions are met”, negotiations for association agreements with Armenia, Georgia and Moldova. (EH/transl.fl)