EU to fast-track Ukraine agreement
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
13.09.2014 12:17
The European Parliament will use a fast-track procedure to ratify the Association Agreement with Ukraine.
Ukrainian students shout slogans during a flash mob for peace in the center of Mariupol, Ukraine, 12 September 2014. EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV
Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz Wolski told journalists in Warsaw that the decision is dictated by the dramatic situation in Ukraine, explaining that under normal circumstances the procedures would last until November.
Saruysz-Wolski said that the ratification ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 16 September. The Ukrainian Parliament will hold a ratification debate on the Agreement at the same time and there will be a TV link-up between Brussels and Kiev to mark the special character of the event.
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski assured that the European Union will not take into account the 2,600 amendments to the Association Agreement that have been put forward by Moscow, adding that Russia did not have the right to do so.
“The ratification will be a strong signal of solidarity with Ukraine and will halt the wave of speculation whether the Agreement can be put on hold or modified", Saryusz-Wolski said.
The ratification of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement will pave the way for a provisional implementation of some of its trade provisions as of 1 November. (mk/nh)