Luxembourg, 25/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 24 June, the Irish minister for foreign affairs, Eamon Gilmore, and Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle called on Ukraine to accelerate the implementation of the reforms needed to enable the association agreement to be signed at the Eastern Partnership summit at the end of November. At the end of the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council, Gilmore said that they needed to hurry as there was little time left before the summit. In Füle's view, although Ukraine has made progress in certain areas there is still much to do to achieve tangible progress on all benchmarks in the three areas required by the EU - the follow-up to the parliamentary elections, selective justice and the implementation of reforms in the association agenda. Füle said that time was moving on and was short. Increased determination and strengthened action were therefore necessary, he said. On the Ukrainian side, the minister Mykola Azarov stressed that he had no doubt that Ukraine would be able to keep its commitments. He said they intended to implement their commitments as it was in Ukraine's interest to do so.
The Cooperation Council focused in particular on the progress achieved by Kiev in the three areas. The Council warned that strengthened efforts to show determined action and to achieve tangible progress on all the criteria were critical for the preparation of the Foreign Affairs Council's assessment and comprehensive debate on the possible signature of the association agreement at the start of the autumn. The Council stated that the signature and implementation of the association agreement would be a major step forwards in EU-Ukraine relations. The Council also took note of the measures taken - such as the liberation or restoration of the rights of former ministers, progress in implementing the criminal procedure code and progress aiming to amend the constitution in order to strengthen the independence of the judiciary.
The EU also underlined the need for the parliamentary majority to create an appropriate environment for dialogue and for the opposition to commit constructively to the reforms and related action sought by the EU. The Council welcomed the recent amended conclusion of the agreement on visa facilitation allowing the agreement's entry into force on 1 July 2013. The Council examined trade, investment and business climate issues, and strategic cooperation in key sectoral areas such as energy, transport and the environment. The EU and Ukraine also discussed international and regional questions. (CG/transl.fl)