Ukraine expects talks with EU on update of Association Agreement to be held in May - Stefanishyna

Ukraine expects the first round of talks on updating the trade parameters of the Association Agreement with the EU to take place in May, according to Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna.

She said this at a meeting with Acting Director of the EU Support Group for Ukraine, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Katarina Mathernova as part of her four-day digital visit to Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government's website.

Stefanishyna noted that following the Ukraine-EU Summit and the Association Council, the partners agreed on an ambitious agenda on which all concerned government agencies are actively working today.

She stressed that Ukraine and the EU should continue to work on trade liberalization and realizing the full potential of the free trade area between Ukraine and the EU.

"Ukraine has already prepared the first part of proposals to update the trade part of the Association Agreement on the basis of dialogue with business and the government's own calculations. We expect the first round of negotiations on updating the trade parameters of the Association Agreement to take place in May this year," Stefanishyna said.

The participants in the meeting, attended by Ukraine's deputy ministers for European integration, discussed the review of the achievement of the objectives of the Association Agreement, the agenda of the dialogue between Ukraine and the EU as part of the European Green Deal, transformations in the fields of transport and energy, as well as EU support on this path, particularly the priorities of cooperation within the EU Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2021-2027.

Following the EU-Ukraine Summit held on October 6, 2020 in Brussels, Ukraine and the European Union reached an agreement on updating the Association Agreement.

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