Ukraine to reject Russia's proposal on postponing introduction of EU technical and phyto-sanitary standards

"Ukraine won’t postpone the introduction of technical and phyto-sanitary standards, as defined by the Agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union," declared Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a government meeting on Wednesday, December 2.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that the 13^th round of technical consultations and consultations at the ministerial level regarding the implementation of the Agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and the EU came to an end on 1 December: "These are tripartite consultations, where Ukraine and the European Union act together, while Russia stands as a country that does not want the Agreement on a free trade area came into force."

"The arguments of Russia do not hold water. We have offered full cooperation in order to make the Russian Federation understand that the agreement shall enter into force under any circumstances on 1 January. If Russia has any technical questions to which it cannot find answers - probably due to the pitfalls of translating the Agreement on a free trade area- we are ready to translate this agreement once again, interpret it once again, and then hold meetings on the implementation and introduction of this agreement," he underlined.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk pointed out that during yesterday's talks the Russian Federation put forward conditions on postponing the introduction of technical and phyto-sanitary standards that meet the requirements of the FTA with the EU for 10 years.

"Moscow is trying to impede Ukrainian economic development. Russia's goal is to hinder Ukrainian goods from being competitive and easily conquering other markets," he stressed.

"I want to state clearly: Ukraine will not postpone the introduction of technical and phyto-sanitary standards defined by the Agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and the European Union. Technical and phyto-sanitary standards will be implemented within the schedule set out by the Agreement, namely starting from 1 January, 2016," highlighted Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

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