Ukraine diplomat confirms application of Association pact upon its signing

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara confirmed on October 8 that the temporary application of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement – to take effect immediately after its signing – will include most of the conditions of the Free Trade Area and parts of the political portion. “Ukraine and the EU, not waiting for (the Association agreement’s) ratification by national parliaments, can begin applying articles related to the free trade zone, sectoral cooperation as well as political dialogue, partly,” he told a Kyiv roundtable, as reported by the Kommersant newspaper. The publication confirmed that more than 90 percent of the Free Trade Agreement – including customs duties and transition periods – will be applied, excluding only three articles that each apply to intellectual property. Only part of the sectoral cooperation provisions will be included in the temporary application, Kommersant reported.

EU Delegation Head to Ukraine Jan Tombinski said on October 7 that the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area will be fully applied by summer 2014 if the Association Agreement is signed in late November and ratified by the 28 parliaments of EU member-states afterwards.

Zenon Zawada: We are more confident in the economic portion of the Association Agreement being implemented than its political portion, which Kommersant identified as “the stability and effectiveness of democratic institutions, rule of law, and respecting human rights and basic freedoms.” Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has demonstrated disinterest in supporting these spheres in his three years in office