PM says Ukraine to reject Russia's proposal on postponing introduction of EU technical and phyto-sanitary standards
"Ukraine won’t
postpone the introduction of technical and phyto-sanitary
standards, as defined by the Agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and
the European Union," declared Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a government
meeting on Wednesday, December 2.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the 13th round of technical
consultations and consultations at the ministerial level regarding the
implementation of the Agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and the EU
came to an end on 1 December: "These are tripartite consultations, where
Ukraine and the European Union act together, while Russia stands as a country
that does not want the Agreement on a free trade area came into force."
"The
arguments of Russia do not hold water. We
have offered full cooperation in order to make the Russian Federation understand
that the agreement shall enter into force under any circumstances on 1 January.
If
Russia has any technical questions to which it cannot find answers - probably due
to the pitfalls of translating the Agreement on a free trade area- we are ready
to translate this agreement once again, interpret it once again, and then hold
meetings on the implementation and introduction of this agreement," he underlined.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk pointed out that during yesterday's talks the Russian
Federation put forward conditions on postponing the introduction of technical
and phyto-sanitary standards that meet the
requirements of the FTA with the EU for 10 years.
"Moscow is
trying to impede Ukrainian economic development. Russia's
goal is to hinder Ukrainian goods from being competitive and easily conquering other
markets," he stressed.
"I want to state clearly: Ukraine will not postpone the introduction of technical and phyto-sanitary standards defined by the Agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union. Technical and phyto-sanitary standards will be implemented within the schedule set out by the Agreement, namely starting from 1 January, 2016," highlighted Arseniy Yatsenyuk.