Ukraine: Verkhovna Rada ratified the Association Agreement with the European Union
On September 16 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament ratified the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. 355 people’s deputies of the Verkhovna Rada and 535 MEPs voted “for” the reporting decision.
The Association Agreement was ratified in full measure, but the clause on usage of the free trade zone was postponed until December 31, 2015.
Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine, signed the document in the hall of the parliament and ordered the Government to start the implementation since September 17, 2014.
The Association Agreement shall enter into force on November 1, 2014. The Agreement shall be ratified by the parliaments of all 28 EU member states, for the full coming into effect.
According to Evgeniy Perebyinis, Speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU will be completed within 1-3 years. He noted that to date five EU countries have already ratified the AA — Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Malta.
In turn, Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, forecasts the full implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union in faster rates than in the similar cases in other countries.