Brussels, 30/04/2004 (Agence Europe) - At a Troika meeting (led by Brian Cowen and Javier Solana) with the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kostantyn Kryshchenko on Thursday in Dublin, the EU and Ukraine signed the protocol which allows the extension of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) from 1 May (subject to ratification by the Ukrainian parliament). The Ukrainian delegation made a unilateral declaration in which it expressed hope that dialogue with the enlarged EU would concentrate on the following: the granting to Ukraine of the status of a functioning market economy in the context of EU anti-dumping measures; an increase in the quota for Ukrainian exports of steel products to the EU market, "taking into account the traditional trade flows between Ukraine and the ten new member states"; the granting of "social preferences" to Ukraine within the generalised system of preferences (GSP); easier access to the European market for Ukrainian agricultural products; the simplification of the visa system.