EU Association may be signed on March 21, Ukraine foreign minister says

The EU and Ukrainian government may sign the political portion of the Association Agreement on March 21, when the EU Council is scheduled to meet, reported Acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia. “Everything’s practically,” he said, as reported by the Interfax-Ukrayina news agency on March 10. “Currently we need technically a little bit of time to prepare this document.” The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area will be signed after the May 25 presidential vote, he confirmed.

The EU hasn’t determined when the Association Agreement with Ukraine will be signed, said Maja Kosijancic, the spokeswoman for Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Security Policy and Foreign Affairs. “As far as I know, the date has yet to be determined,” she said. “But we expect that, as a priority, it can occur at any event before May 25.”

Zenon Zawada: Signing the Agreement is necessary for the Ukrainian government. Unfortunately, it will need to prepare for a harsh reaction from the Russian government, which will consist of more efforts to convince the residents of southeastern Ukraine to engage in secession efforts. Doomsday predictions of economic collapse will be used to encourage southeastern Ukrainians to pressure their local governments to pursue membership in the Customs Union. This scenario has already been rehearsed by the Kremlin, so it should come as no surprise when it occurs.