Ukraine one step closer to EU?

Polish FM Radosław Sikorski (L) with Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kozhara during the YES meeting in Ukraine, 21.09.2013. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

Last week the Ukrainian government officially approved a draft of the association agreement with the country's Prime Minister Mykola Azarov calling it a "historic step" and Polish FM Radoslaw Sikorski referring to it as "the final lap".

As Danuta Isler reports, does this mean that an EU membership for Ukraine is already on the cards?

Speaking at the YES - Yalta European Strategy conference, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that Ukraine is very close to meeting all the conditions set by Brussels in order to sign an association agreement between the EU and Ukraine.

The EU-Ukraine accord has been repeatedly delayed by differences between Kiev and Brussels, most notably over the treatment of former premier Yulia Tymoshenko.

Despite the obstacles last week the Ukrainian government officially approved a draft of the association agreement. The document - composed of 7 chapters and 486 articles - abolishes the majority of trade barriers between the EU and Ukraine.

The EU also still wants Ukraine to make legislative changes to its justice and election procedures. Ukrainian foreign minister Leonid Kozhara claimed that such changes may be made in a matter of days.