Brussels, 24/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 27 April, the EU and Ukraine will hold their 17th summit in Kiev. The last summit dates back to 25 February 2013, before the Maidan events, the annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. This is also the first summit since the signing of the association agreement for a free trade area.
The event is expected to enable an update on bilateral relations. For the Ukrainians, it is also - according to one source - “a summit of solidarity and support”, among other things, against the backdrop of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. On the European side, emphasis is put on implementing the association agreement and political and economic reforms, on the crisis in Eastern Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and on regional issues and the preparation of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga on 21-22 May. The European party would like to review the reforms that are under way in Ukraine - especially its constitutional reform, including the special status of the Eastern regions, decentralisation, the fight against corruption, the reform of the judiciary and of the energy sector. The two parties could also discuss the creation of an EU-Ukraine anti-fraud investigation office.
Ukraine's macroeconomic situation is also expected to be discussed. The EU has already mobilised €6 billion to ensure the country's macroeconomic stability since March 2014.
On its side, Ukraine is expected to stress the liberalisation of visas. The fifth progress report should be published before the Riga summit. According to a Ukrainian source, a few technical issues are still outstanding but can be resolved easily. The issue is reportedly political above all - with two EU member states still reluctant about this visa liberalisation.
The Ukrainian party could also return to the issue of implementing of an EU CSDP mission to secure the border with Russia, believing that the OSCE monitoring mission is “good but not enough”. Kiev has reportedly sent the EU a list of 15 ideas for tasks that this CSDP mission could assume in order to support the Minsk arrangement. According to a European source, the EU is studying the proposals “in detail”. “There is no reason to replace the OSCE mission”, the source added.
The summit will begin with a trilateral meeting between European Council President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Ukraine's President Petro Porochenko. The meeting will be followed by lunch then a plenary session. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will also be there.
On 28 April, Juncker, Hahn and also the vice-presidents of the Commission responsible for the euro and social dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, and for the energy union, Maros Sefcovic, will participate in an international conference on the reform, in Kiev. According to a source, the conference aims at a review, and not announcing new aid. This conference also aims to prepare the investors conference which is expected to take place at the end of the year. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)