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.
Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas took part in a meeting of the Coordination Commission for the Implementation of the Association Agreement and discussed with members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine preparations for the Ukraine-EU summit scheduled for October 12.
“Very honoured to be invited to speak (the Ukrainian language) at the Ukrainian Cabinet’s Coordination Commission meeting on the implementation of our Association agreement. Preparations for the October 12 EU-Ukraine Summit, swift implementation of the justice reform, energy market issues discussed,” Maasikas wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
The Normady Four summit at the level of heads of state of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia on the implementation of the project “Key clusters for the implementation of the Minsk agreements” may take place in the near future, said head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.
“The main task for all of us remains the restoration of peace [in Donbas] … One of the mechanisms for achieving peace should be the project ‘Key clusters for the implementation of the Minsk agreements’, prepared by Germany and France, which Ukraine supported. The next step should be the N4 summit, which will take place in the near future,” Yermak wrote on his Facebook page following a working visit with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Germany.
He also noted that “security has become a key issue in negotiations with German colleagues.” “Nord Stream 2 is a security challenge that escalates threats to the entire region. Nord Stream 2 violates the principles of the Energy Union and EU antitrust laws, “Yermak said.
Yermak expressed hope that Germany would contribute to the formation of a common position of the European Union on European integration and Ukraine’s membership in NATO, and also stressed that “following the visit to Germany, it became obvious that no one, without taking into account the interests of Ukraine and guarantees of their observance, will decide anything.”
According to the head of the President’s Office, Germany also raised issues of threats to Ukraine due to the concentration of Russian troops near its borders, the implementation of key reforms in Ukraine, the attraction of European investors to Ukraine and the development of “green energy” in Ukraine.
The Eastern Partnership Summit will take place in December, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in Brussels on Thursday following a meeting with the foreign ministers of the three Eastern Partnership countries – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
The ministers of the three countries visited the EU capital for the first time in the format of the so-called Associated Trio.
“This year is an important year for the Eastern Partnership. Together with the Commission, we are in the process of finalizing the post-2020 agenda, which contains concrete deliverables and targets. Our Eastern Partnership summit will take place in December. I understand that all of us are sorry for the fact that it has [previously] been postponed, as has also happened with other summits. But in December, when this summit will take place, we will have an opportunity to set this new agenda in motion, and to agree on a common vision for the future,” he said.
Borrell said the EU is looking forward to further development of relations with the countries of the Eastern Partnership, which are “based on the principles of inclusivity and differentiation. Both have to be taken together and this will require flexibility from both parts.”
The Russian-American summit in Geneva on June 16 will last five hours, according to the protocol program.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival at the Villa La Grande and a joint photo session with United States President Joe Biden and Swiss President Guy Parmelin are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. local time, according to documents released by the Kremlin press service ahead of the event.
The conversation between the U.S. and Russian presidents on the ground floor in a library is due to begin at 1:15 p.m.
The Russian-U.S. talks in an expanded format are schedule to begin at 2:30 p.m.
These talks will resume after a break at 4:15 p.m.
The Russian president’s press conference is due to begin at 6:00 p.m.
The 22nd Ukraine-EU summit will be the first bilateral EU summit with a third country held physically in Brussels since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The European Council said on Friday that the EU side will be represented by Presidents of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. Ukraine will be represented by President Volodymyr Zelensky. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will also participate.
During the meeting, the leaders will review bilateral relations, including the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the EU support to Ukraine; the next steps in the implementation of the Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area; the state of reforms in Ukraine.
Leaders will also discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine, recent developments in Belarus and further regional and foreign policy issues.
It is expected that at 15:30 Brussels (16:30 Kyiv time) on Tuesday, EU leaders will meet the Ukrainian president, and at 17:50 Brussels time (18:50 Kyiv time) a press conference is scheduled to be held in the virtual mode.
