Brussels, 16/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - Ukraine is calling for the new reinforced partnership agreement, under negotiation with the EU since 2007 as a replacement for the current Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), to be a proper "association agreement", the Ukrainian Deputy Minister for foreign affairs, Kostyantyn Yelisyeyev, told a small group of journalists in Brussels on Wednesday evening. "The subjects we are in the process of negotiating with the EU, such as the conclusion of a free-trade zone, energy cooperation and crisis management, are clearly issues which aim at Ukraine's association and integration" in the EU, said Mr Yelisyeyev, after a negotiation meeting with representatives of the European Commission. The meeting was devoted mainly to the content of the preamble to the future agreement, in other words the values, principles and objectives of the agreement. According to the Ukrainian Deputy Minister for foreign affairs, there is broad agreement on this introductory part of the agreement, except on two important elements: - the name of the future agreement; - a reference to Ukraine's potential "European perspective".
Kiev is aware of the EU's difficulties in orchestrating any further waves of enlargement (institutional problems, ambivalence of public opinion to enlargement, a long list of candidates in the western Balkans, etc). It is for this reason that the Ukrainian government hopes to avoid any overly formal reference in the new agreement. "We want a highly factual, highly pragmatic wording. Nothing too political", said the minister. Basically, Kiev is simply calling for the EU to recognise, in the preamble to the agreement, that Ukraine, as a European country, has the right to apply to join the European Union, in full respect of the Treaty. "This does not mean that the Union will be obliged to accept Ukraine, because this will of course depend on our ability to fulfil the accession criteria, in particular the Copenhagen criteria. There will, therefore, be no question of an automatic link" between this European prospect and full accession, the deputy minister stressed. This means that the Member States do not have to fear that Ukraine will be among their number tomorrow. "Quite the contrary, it will be a long road", he said. The next meeting of negotiations on the new agreement will be held in Kiev in September. (H.B./trans.fl)