Business New Europe: Russia demands sweeping changes to Ukraine’s association agreement with EU

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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – September 10, 2014) Moscow wants amendments to five vectors of Ukraine’s association agreement with the European Union, according to liberal Ukrainian paper Zerkalo Nedeli. The amendment would see as much as 20% of goods excluded from free trade between EU and Ukraine. This would require renegotiation of the agreement that could take at least two years, the paper’s sources fear.

According to a copy of a 60 page document drawn up by Moscow and seen by the paper, Russia is demanding that 2376 items out of a total of 11600 be excluded from Ukraine’s free trade agreement with Russia, listed over 45 pages of the document.

Russia, Ukraine and the EU have provisionally agreed that Russia would present amendments it wants to three vectors of the agreement. But according to the document, Moscow wants amended all five vectors of the free trade agreement – including the crucial vectors of tariff and energy liberalization. The amendments have to be made before the agreement’s ratification by Ukraine’s parliament, slated for September.

According to the paper’s sources, during talks in Minsk Ukrainian representatives promised to be as flexible as possible. Other sources told the paper that Russia’s main goal is now to postpone ratification for as long as possible, and force Ukraine to enter into new protracted negotations with Brussels.

 

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