Explanatory Memorandum to JOIN(2015)4 - Union position within the EU-Ukraine Association Council with regard to the adoption of a Recommendation on the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agenda

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dossier JOIN(2015)4 - Union position within the EU-Ukraine Association Council with regard to the adoption of a Recommendation on the ...
source JOIN(2015)4 EN
date 18-02-2015
Relations between the EU and Ukraine are currently based on those parts of the Association Agreement which are provisionally applied i, on the parts of the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) i remaining in force, as well as on the European Neighborhood Policy framework. After signing the political chapters of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement at the EU summit of 21 March 2014, both parties signed the remaining sections of the Agreement - including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) - in the margins of the EU summit of 27 June 2014. On 16 September 2014, the Association Agreement was ratified by the Ukrainian Parliament and consent was given by the European Parliament, enabling the provisional application of the relevant provisions of the Association Agreement as of 1 November 2014, and the DCFTA-part as of 1 January 2016. 

In order to ensure that the EU and Ukraine would be able to enjoy the full benefits of the Agreement, starting with its partial provisional application, the Association Agenda (earlier version) was adopted by the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council on 23 November 2009. Its operational part was amended several times and the last update was endorsed by the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council in Luxembourg, on 24 June 2013.

Given recent developments - the provisional application of the Association Agreement and the urgent need for reforms in Ukraine - it became an important political priority to update the Association Agenda so as to reflect the current state of play of the relations between the EU and Ukraine.

The aim of the Association Agenda is to prepare and facilitate the implementation of the Association Agreement, by creating a practical framework through which the overall objectives of political association and economic integration can be realised and by providing a list of priorities for joint work on a sector by sector basis.

The Association Agenda is also a vehicle for monitoring and assessment of Ukraine’s progress in implementing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, achieving the overall objectives of political association and economic integration, ensuring respect for common values, and converging with the EU's acquis in specific areas, as foreseen in the Association Agreement.

The fact that the Association Agenda focuses on a more limited number of priorities does not affect the scope or the mandate of existing dialogues under the PCA or other agreements nor should it prejudge the implementation of the commitments made in the Association Agreement/DCFTA.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Commission request the Council to adopt the draft Council Decision attached.