Brussels, 22/01/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the foreign affairs ministers of the EU gave their political green light to the opening of negotiations between the European Commission and Ukraine on a new partnership agreement to replace the existing Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CPA), which is due to expire on 1 March 2008, after 10 years of existence. The talks on this new "reinforced" agreement will be officially launched in Kiev on 6 February, at the meeting of the ministerial troika of the EU (foreign affairs) with Ukraine. The negotiation mandate adopted on Monday provides for the long-term possibility of the creation of a free-trade area, and the immediate reinforcement of cooperation in a range of sectors (including energy), but will not discuss the prospects for EU/Ukraine relations in the long term. Contrary to the reported wishes of several Member States (notably Poland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Hungary and other central European countries), the prospects for Ukraine's future accession to the EU is not referred to in the negotiation mandate of the Council. Several countries, such as France, Germany and the Netherlands, had opposed this possibility.
In the conclusions also adopted by Monday's "General Affairs/External Relations" Council, the ministers took note of Ukraine's "European aspirations" and of its "European choice", but also stressed that the "new reinforced agreement (to be negotiated in 2007) does not prejudge the future development of relations between the EU and Ukraine". The new reinforced agreement with Kiev is designed to allow the EU to establish "an increasingly close relationship with Ukraine, with the objective of achieving progressive economic integration and extending political cooperation", according to the conclusions of Monday's Council. To this end, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) must be reinforced, the ministers continue, "in order to institute, in the neighbourhood of the EU, a zone of prosperity, stability and security, based on human rights, democracy and the rule of law". The European Union remains firmly resolute in its support of the political and economic reforms instituted by Ukraine, the ministers concluded. The approval of the negotiation mandate is an " extremely positive signal which we have sent out to the Ukrainians", said External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. (hb)