Brussels, 13/09/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has proposed a draft negotiation mandate to the Council with a view to the conclusion of a new bilateral agreement with Ukraine, to replace the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which is due to expire at the end of 2007. Once the Member States have given their green light to this, negotiations will be able to start- most likely in early 2007. The future of contractual EU/Ukraine relations will be the central point of a visit by the new Ukrainian Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych, in Brussels on 14 September, where he will take part in a Cooperation Council with the EU. The new agreement proposed by the Commission is similar to the one it proposed to Russia: - it will be an "ambitious" and global agreement, covering all areas and moving, as far as possible, beyond the level of cooperation covered in the current PCA. The agreement will include proposals on common values, reinforced cooperation in the field of justice, liberty and security, broader provisions on energy, and cooperation in a raft of other sectors, such as transport and the environment; - the possibility of negotiating a free-trade agreement is provided for, once Kiev has joined the WTO. "The Commission expects therefore that Ukraine will make the adoption of the remaining items of legislation necessary for the Ukraine's accession to the WTO a priority", the Commission stresses in a press release. Negotiations for the new agreement will depend on progress resulting from the implementation of the Action Plan within the framework of the European neighbourhood policy, the Commission explains.