Brussels, 21/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 21 March, the European leaders and Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk signed the political plank of the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU, which was initially due to be signed in November at the Eastern Partnership summit. The following have been signed: the preamble to the agreement, article 1 on objectives, the chapters on the general principles (I), political dialogue and reform, political association, cooperation and convergence in the field of foreign policy and security (II), the final, general and institutional provisions (VII) and the final act. The parts on justice and home affairs, financial cooperation and the deep and comprehensive free-trade area, on the other hand, were not signed. In their conclusions, the European leaders stated that “the European Council agrees that the first political dialogue meeting scheduled under the agreement will be held in April”.
This is a “historic” day for Ukraine, but also for all of Europe, Yatsenyuk stressed. He described this signature as the first step towards Ukraine's ultimate objective of “becoming a full member of the EU”. Stressing that his country faces many political, economic and military challenges, Yatsenyuk explained that the EU and his country are “together, will succeed together and Ukraine shares European values”. He paid tribute to the demonstrators on Maidan Square, who “gave their lives for this treaty as well”.
President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said that “this gesture symbolises the importance attached by both sides to this relationship, and our joint desire to take it even further”. “Today is just the prelude: we expect to sign the other parts of the agreement soon, as well as the economic provisions which, together with the political ones, form a single instrument”. Several European leaders stressed that this signature is a “sign of solidarity” with Kiev.
In its conclusions, the European Council stressed that the EU supports the Ukrainians and their right to decide on their own future, and that it stands alongside the Ukrainian government in its efforts to stabilise Ukraine and undertake reforms. “In the long run, Ukraine's success will be one of the most powerful responses to Russia's aggression”, said British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Priority to micro-financial stability. Van Rompuy reiterated that the EU is ready to help to re-establish macro-economic stability in Ukraine, which is a priority of the heads of state and government. “The Ukrainian government must quickly launch an ambitious programme of structural reforms, focusing notably on the fight against corruption and reinforcing transparency in all budgetary operations”, they explained. They called on their ministers to agree on micro-financial assistance as soon as possible, for which an agreement with the IMF will be needed. On 19 March, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Olli Rehn proposed micro-financial aid of €1 billion, on top of the €610 million already channelled, but the payment of which will be conditional upon an agreement with the IMF. “The member states of the EU agreed to coordinate their positions within the IMF as regards the conditions for assisting Ukraine”, the leaders added. They also welcomed the creation of a contact point to coordinate efforts to support structural transition in Ukraine, with the involvement of the international community and international financial institutions.
Van Rompuy pointed out that the Union is prepared to remove customs duty on Ukrainian exports to the EU for “a certain period of time”. The European Council has also called on the Commission and the European Parliament swiftly to adopt the proposal to remove customs duty temporarily (the “autonomous commercial measures”) on Ukrainian exports to the EU.
The European leaders noted “with satisfaction” that the Ukrainian government is determined to ensure that “the government structures are representative and open to all and reflect regional diversity, fully to ensure the protection of individuals belonging to national minorities, to undertake constitutional reform, to investigate all violations of human rights and all acts of violence and to fight extremism”. They urged Kiev to “guarantee the free and fair nature of the presidential elections of 25 May”. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that certain leaders wished to bring pressure to bear for parliamentary elections to be organised as soon as possible, but this idea had ultimately been abandoned. (CG with MD, EL, AN, JK, EH, MB)