Brussels, 24 November 2016
Today, the European Union and Ukraine reaffirmed
their strong partnership and shared commitment to a comprehensive reform agenda at
the EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels. The
European Union resolutely supports Ukraine's continuing reform efforts, and several new
commitments were made in order
to facilit
Jean-Claude Juncker,
the President of the European
Commission and Donald Tusk, the
President of the European Council
represented the European Union alongside the President
of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.
At the press conference following the Summit, President Juncker said: "Over
the last two or three
years, while working faithfully with President Poroshenko and his government, we have witnessed
a great deal more progress during
this short period than in
the previous twenty years." Speaking about the prospect
of visa-free travel for the
citizens of Ukraine, President Juncker said: "Ukraine
has fulfilled all the conditions
that we have
set, and so it is
only normal that, after having
seen Ukraine undertake all the
reforms that have been asked
for, the European Union, for its part,
delivers. I remain convinced that despite the difficulties
and the divergences
that can exist between certain
Member States and the European
Parliament, we will be able
to grant visa liberalisation for Ukraine before
the end of
the year".
Read the full remarks of President Juncker at the press conference here.
The three Presidents
were joined by the President
of the European
Parliament, Martin Schulz, for a leaders'
meeting and by the EU High
Representative/Vice-President of
the European Commission, Federica Mogherini,
Commission Vice-Presidents Maroš Šefčovič and ValdisDombrovskis,
and Commissioners Johannes Hahn and Cecilia Malmström for the plenary session.
Programmes in support of
Ukraine's reform efforts
The European Union
confirmed a range of specific support
programmes designed to foster accountable
and transparent governance. A programme to support the fight against
corruption, signed
at the Summit
by Ukrainian Vice-Prime Minister, Ivana
Klympush-Tsintsadze and the
Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, will support the
new anti-corruption bodies and the
monitoring of anti-corruption efforts by the Rada
and civil society with €15 million. This is
just one element in a €300 million programme that also includes
support for decentralisation (€97 million),
the reform of public administration (€104 million),
and the rule of law (€52.5
million). All programmes have been designed by
the Support Group for
Ukraine
and the
EU Delegation in Ukraine in close
collaboration with the Government of Ukraine and
Member States of the European
Union.
Read the full press
release: EU-Ukraine Summit: Sustained
EU support for accountable and transparent governance in Ukraine
To further support reforms of the
Ukrainian police, the European Union
will provide a €6 million support package covering the areas ofcommunity policing
and public order. This package will offer
training and equipment to police
officers to provide community-oriented services
and to develop
professional public order structures.
The Summit provided the European Union
with an opportunity
to outline the way forward
regarding EU Macro-Financial
Assistance to Ukraine. Of the €3.4 billion
pledged by the EU, €2.21 billion has already been
provided and a further €1.2 billion will be disbursed
in two tranches
after the implementation of the agreed reforms.
Despite the difficult geopolitical and economic situation,
Ukraine has made considerable progress with its
ambitious reform agenda and the
next disbursement is expected soon.
Support measures in the
context of the Minsk agreements
On 25 November, the European
Union will increase its support
to the OSCE Special
Monitoring Mission (SMM) with an additional €5 million, added to €25 million already provided. The EU has been
supporting the OSCE SMM from the beginning
of its operations
and continues to play an
active part in ensuring the
Mission is able to execute
its tasks in the best
possible way.
The European Union also reaffirmed its unwavering support
for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
The European Union will support
the continued international diplomatic efforts within the Normandy Format
and the Trilateral
Contact Group aimed at reaching
a sustainable political solution to the
conflict in eastern Ukraine. For the European
Union, the full implementation of the Minsk
agreements by all sides remains
crucial, including Russia's responsibility in this regard.
The duration of economic sanctions
on the Russian
Federation remains linked to the
complete implementation of the Minsk
agreements. The European Union continues to implement
its non-recognition policy for the
illegal annexation of Crimea and
Sevastopol by the Russian Federation.
Strategic Energy Partnership
A new Memorandum of
Understanding on a Strategic Energy Partnership between the
EU and Ukraine was signed. The
EU's Energy Union Strategy pays particular attention to upgrading
the Strategic Partnership with Ukraine. The new
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) replaces the previous
Memorandum on energy cooperation, which was signed
in 2005. The new MoU foresees
enhanced cooperation on a number of
energy topics, from energy security
to full market
integration; from energy efficiency and decarbonisation of the economy
to research cooperation.
Read the full press
release: EU-Ukraine Summit: The
EU and Ukraine intensify energy partnership
Visa Liberalisation
The EU welcomed the agreement on the negotiating position on visa liberalisation reached by the Council ahead
of the Summit,
demonstrating its commitment to grant
visa free travel for short
stays in the Schengen area
to citizens of Ukraine.
Trade
The Summit also offered
an opportunity to discuss the
EU's proposal of September
2016 to improve access to the
EU market for a number of industrial
and agricultural products from Ukraine,
in addition to the opportunities
created already by the Deep
and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
(DCFTA). Summit participants assessed the progress made
in the implementation
of the DCFTA, and the European
Union praised Ukrainian reforms in areas such
as competition and public procurement.
Progress on lifting existing trade irritants would further help
to garner support of EU co-legislators to back the proposal
for autonomous trade
measures.
Immediately following the conclusion
of the Summit,
the Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström and the Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko will speak at
an EU-Ukraine Business Roundtable to update
representatives of the business community
on the economic
situation, the objectives and achievements of the reform process.
The Roundtable will also take
stock of the business climate
and investment opportunities in Ukraine.
European Commission: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3988_en.htm
