Brussels, 01/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The key message to be delivered through the joint operational conclusions adopted by the EU, Russia and Ukraine, at a trilateral ministerial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 1 December, is that the free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Ukraine will enter into force on 1 January 2016, and that the Russian concerns about the impact of this agreement on the Russian economy will be addressed as part of the agreement's flexibility and in further trilateral consultations.
“Some concerns of the Russian Federation can be addressed in the context of the existing flexibilities available in the deep and comprehensive free trade area. For some other concerns, solutions can be available in the context of the bilateral or trilateral or plurilateral cooperation frameworks”, the conclusions state. The conclusions were adopted by European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, Russia's Minister for Economic Development Alexey Ulyukayev, and Ukraine's Minister for Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin.
Any “practical solutions” for taking account of Russia's wish-list “have to respect the relevant WTO provisions”, the conclusions state. The participants identified a “number of potential practical solutions” and are ready to continue talks at ministerial and expert levels, they add.
The trilateral EU-Ukraine FTA consultations are part of the Minsk peace agreement of 12 February relating to the conflict between Ukraine and the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)