Ukraine-EU summit starts today

On Thursday, November 24, Brussels will host talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the European Union in the framework of the Ukraine-EU summit.

The summit’s agenda will include some 20 issues. The first issue listed on the agenda regards priorities in political and economic reforms, including the EU assistance. The second question to be discussed is cooperation in the field of common foreign security policy and a common security and defense policy (CFSP / CSDP). 

Next comes the issue of cooperation in the field of judiciary, freedoms, and security, including visa liberalization. Issues related to trade, provisional application of the Association Agreement in terms of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, sectoral cooperation, including energy and transport, are also set to be discussed at the summit.

A separate block of discussion will consider the development of the situation in Ukraine. In particular, the sides will discuss the situation in the certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the implementation of the Minsk agreements, including issues related to human rights. The agenda also includes the discussion of illegal Russian annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. It is expected that another topic of discussion will be the situation in the European Union, regional and foreign policy issues. Separately, the "Russian issue" will be considered as well as the situation in Moldova and Transnistria. It is possible that the parties may discuss other matters.

Ukraine will be represented by President Petro Poroshenko, while the European Union – by President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker. As noted by Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, the first deputy of Poroshenko’s chief of staff, this will be a non-standard and strategic summit.

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