The Common Aviation Area (CAA) agreement will be signed at the Ukraine-EU summit in Kyiv on Tuesday, October 12, a senior EU official has said.
He said at a briefing in Monday that three agreements will be signed at the summit. The first is the CAA agreement, which, in simple words, will improve communication between the two parties, and create conditions for new commercial opportunities for the airlines of Ukraine and the EU member states, he said.
According to him, the agreement will open Ukraine to some low-cost airlines, which will increase the number of travelers and will significantly contribute to the growth of the Ukrainian economy in the field of tourism.
Also, two more agreements will be signed: on the association of Ukraine with Horizon Europe, the European Framework Programme for research and innovation and with the Creative Europe programme.
The EU official said that the summit will provide an opportunity to discuss the results achieved in the implementation of the Ukraine-EU association agreement.
The review of the result will be launched at the summit and should be finalized next year. At the moment, the EU and Ukraine are exchanging respective assessments to present a common assessment at the bilateral summit in Brussels in 2022, he said.
The official said that the summit will provide an opportunity for the EU to reaffirm its continued commitment to strengthening Ukraine’s political association and economic integration with the EU.
It is vital that the EU continues to work closely with Ukraine to strengthen the rule of law and enhance and promote further reforms, he said. In this context, he touched on the particular importance of a comprehensive and consistent implementation of judicial reforms and the ongoing fight against corruption. Both of them are key, the official said.
In addition, he spoke about the EU’s plans to launch an investment package for Ukraine worth EUR 6.5 billion as part of the economic investment program.
He also said that the central theme at the summit will be security.
He said that he expects the leaders at the summit to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to implement and adhere to appropriate non-recognition policies, including restrictive measures. He said that there will also be a discussion about what we can do together to counter some of the hybrid threats and counter disinformation, which the EU and Ukraine often faces.
The official said that the summit will point out the need for the reform process in Ukraine to continue and be fully implemented. Further commitment is needed to ensure that the reform process becomes irreversible, especially in the area of the rule of law and the judiciary, he said.
The 23rd Ukraine-EU summit will take place on Tuesday, October 12, in Kyiv. It will start at 9.00. The EU will be represented at the summit by President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Thus, Michel will visit Ukraine for the third time starting in March.
