Boiko: Ukraine halted association to find mechanism to compensate for losses from trade with CIS
KYIV, November 22 /Ukrinform/. Negotiations on the signature of an association agreement between the EU and Ukraine have been suspended until the mechanism for compensating for losses from trade with CIS countries is found.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Yuriy Boiko said this at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, a Ukrinform correspondent reported.
"It means that the government suspends the process of negotiations on signing the agreement until we find a way out of the situation when a fall in industrial production and our relations with CIS countries will be compensated by the European market. Otherwise, our country's economy will sustain serious damage. This will affect the standard of living of all our people," Boiko said.
He said that the Verkhovna Rada and the government, by conducting the course for European integration of Ukraine, had implemented some very important initiatives that were aimed at bringing the country closer to European standards. "However, in economic terms we have not received any clear signal from our European partners that the losses in economic and trade volumes, which we have received over the last four months, will be compensated by revenues from new markets and the supply of our products to new markets in Europe," Boiko said.
According to the deputy prime minister, industrial production in Ukraine has significantly dropped over the last four months and an analysis showed that this was due to a decrease in trade and economic relations with CIS countries. This led to a halt a number of enterprises and a reduction in revenues to the budgets of all levels. "Each month, beginning in August, our country started losing 15,000-20,000 jobs. About UAH 30-40 billion in trade turnover has been lost over this period. This led to serious consequences, because there was a reduction in revenues to the budgets of all levels and to the Pension Fund," Boiko said.
As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers at a meeting on November 21 issued a decree "The question of signing the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one part, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other part," according to which the process of preparations for the signature of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU has been halted.
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