Turkey's EU bid to advance soon (Johannes Hahn)

Turkey's bid for EU membership could move forward "very soon", EU enlargement commissioner, Johannes Hahn, said Monday.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Nikolai Azarov: US embassy had Ukraine coup script

The script of a coup d’etat that occurred a year ago in Ukraine had not been written by oppositionists in Kiev but was in the US embassy, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said on the NTV television channel.

Talks on Ukraine-EU association deal to kick off in Moscow July 11 (Italian FM, Federica Mogherini)

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the economic part of the association deal with the EU on June 27...

Three-party talks involving Ukraine, the European Union and Russia on an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU will kick off in Moscow on Friday, July 11, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who is currently in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on a visit, said Tuesday.

“We are happy that talks between Ukraine, the EU and the Russian Federation regarding implementation of the association agreement are starting on Friday. 

Remarks by President Barroso at the signing of the Association Agreements with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine

European Commission, Signing ceremony, Brussels, 27 June 2014.

José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission:

"Today, we are signing Association Agreements between the European Union and three important European countries: Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. This is indeed a historic day: for the three countries themselves, for the European Union and for the whole of Europe.

Moldova’s association agreement with EU disregards its interests in east

Moldova will be actually brought down to its knees before the European Union, Moldova’s former President says...

The association agreement Moldova has signed with the European Union take no account of Moldova’s interests in the east, Moldova’s former President and leader of the country’s biggest Party of Communists, Vladimir Voronin, said on Friday.
“The association agreement signed between Moldova and the European Union does not take due account of our interests in the east. We should not lose our partners and limit our development possibilities,” he said.

Rupture of economic relations with Russia can cause damage to Ukraine (Russian Deputy FM)

Much depends on when the Ukrainian parliament ratifies the agreement because the signing means nothing, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Nebenzya said...

Ukraine will lose economically if it ruptures relations with Russia, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Nebenzya has said.
On June 27, Ukraine signed the economic part of the Association Agreement with the EU, Nebenzya told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.

Putin’s aide (Dmitry Peskov) says discussion of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement after signing

The signing ceremony will take place June 27 on the sidelines of the EU summit...

Discussion of an association between Ukraine and the EU after they have signed the Association Agreement (AA) is far from the very fruitful way of action, President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

Ukraine will round up the process of concluding the AA June 27 when it signs the economic bloc of the document. The signing ceremony will take place June 27 on the sidelines of the EU summit.

Russia to Set Own Barriers in Response to Ukraine's EU Trade Pact

With Ukraine set to sign a free trade pact with the European Union on Friday, Russia has said it is likely to respond with trade barriers without seeking approval from Belarus and Kazakhstan, its partners in a customs union.

Ukraine is due to sign the second part of its association agreement with the EU on June 27. The pact has been at the heart of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine since last year, when Moscow put pressure on Kyiv to shun the EU in favor of joining its own Eurasian Economic Union.

EU candidate status for Albania

European Commission, MEMO, Brussels, 24 June 2014:

At the General Affairs Council meeting today in Luxembourg, Ministers from the EU Member States have agreed – based on the recommendation by the European Commission (see report) to grant EU candidate status to Albania, subject to endorsement by EU heads of states at the forthcoming European Council on Friday in Brussels.

Kiev Willing to Consult Moscow on Implementation of EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

Ukraine is ready to hold consultations with Russia on the implementation of the economic part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which Kiev intends to sign on June 27, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told the press on Monday.

"The impact of implementing the agreement, including on our economic relations with the Russian Federation, will be clearly positive. We are ready, if there are concerns, we are ready to continue to conduct effective consultations.

Turkey 'committed' to EU accession

Photo: aa.com.tr

Turkey is committed to its European Union accession process and expects the same commitment from the EU, the Turkish Minister for EU Affairs has told a meeting in Luxembourg.

Mevlut Cavusolgu attended the 52nd Turkey-EU Association Council meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

"Turkey will do its full share of work and we expect the EU to do the same," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference, with the EU's enlargement policy chief Stefan Fule and Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos following the meeting.

The EU's Association Agreements with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine

European Commission, MEMO, Brussels, 23 June 2014:

On 27 June 2014 the EU will sign Association Agreements with Georgia and the Republic of Moldova and complete the signature process with Ukraine, each providing for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

This is an important moment both for the EU and for the countries concerned as the Agreements will significantly deepen political and economic ties between the signatories with a long-term perspective of closer political association and economic integration.

Russia government to decide to protect domestic market in case of association deal

Russian government, but not the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) will take a decision to protect Russian market if Ukraine signs an association deal with the European Union, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters after a meeting of the EEC Council on Monday.

In his words, Russia will receive this right after the EEC Council considers specific materials.

Ukraine may lose $100 bln in 2015-2018 if it severs cooperation with Russia, Customs Union

Ukraine may lose about $100 billion within a period from 2015 to 2018 if it severs cooperation ties with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan after reorienting towards the European Union, the Committee of Civil Initiatives said in a report entitled “The Dead-end of the Struggle of Integration Drives in Europe.”

According to experts, the most vulnerable to losses might be Ukrainian exports to Russia and other Customs Union countries, with an estimated loss of $14.3-15.3 billion. dollars a year.

EU says economic aid promises to Ukraine not legally binding (Russia and Ukraine are linked by some 400 various agreements)

The free trade agreement with Ukraine will be beneficial for the European business and...........taxpayers because free trade is advantageous for everyone...

Shortly before the signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union due June 27, Brussels on Friday explained the future deals to Kiev. They focus on a pragmatic warning on the scope of freedom for Ukraine in exchange for 11 billion euros of economic assistance the country expects.

Moldova’s association agreement with EU may be serious test for relations with Russia

The issue of an association agreement between Moldova and the European Union is scheduled to be signed on June 27...
 
Moldova’s signing the association agreement with the European Union can complicate relations with Russia and put them to a serious test, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The issue of an association agreement between Moldova and the European Union is scheduled to be signed on June 27. 

Statement by Commissioner Štefan Füle following the meeting with Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, PM of Kosovo

European Commission, Statement, Pristina, 6 May 2014:

"Mirëdita! I am glad to be in Pristina again. It is striking that every time I come we can mark one more milestone in Kosovo's relations with the EU:

- two years ago we launched the Feasibility Study on Stabilisation and Association Agreement,

- last year I reported on its Conclusions

- and now we are marking the end of successful SAA negotiations.

EU Lawmakers Pass Ukraine Resolution, Prompting Russian Ire

MOSCOW/STRASBOURG, January 30 (RIA Novosti) – An outspoken Russian lawmaker has labeled a resolution by Council of Europe lawmakers on unrest in Ukraine as an attempt to damage Russia.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a forum that brings together parliamentarians from 47 members states across the continent, passed a resolution Thursday during an emergency debate over Ukraine's political crisis and the government’s crackdown on opposition protests.
The resolution asserts that statements by Ukrainian officials indicated that the decision not to sign an association agreement with the EU in November was influenced by pressure applied by Russia.

Ukraine: Janukowitsch will EU-Abkommen doch unterzeichnen

Kommt es nach wochenlangen Protesten in der Ukraine zu einer Wende? Laut EU-Diplomatin Ashton will Präsident Janukowitsch das Assoziierungsabkommen nun doch. 

Der ukrainische Präsident Viktor Janukowitsch will nach Worten von EU-Chefdiplomatin Catherine Ashton nun doch das von ihm kürzlich abgelehnte Abkommen mit der Europäischen Union abschließen. "Janukowitsch hat mir gegenüber deutlich gemacht, dass er die Absicht hat, das Assoziierungsabkommen zu unterzeichnen", sagte Ashton.

Over 100,000 defy protest ban in Ukraine. Demonstrators take to the streets again, chase police away and chant "revolution" as fury over U-turn on Europe grows.

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More than 100,000 demonstrators have chased away police to rally in the centre of Ukraine's capital, defying a government ban on protests in Independence Square, in the biggest show of anger over the president's refusal to sign an agreement with the European Union.
Chants of "revolution'' resounded across a sea of EU and Ukrainian flags on the square, where the government had prohibited rallies starting on Sunday.