Informal meeting of EU-Ukraine Association Council to be held

The EU-Ukraine Association Council will meet informally today following yesterday’s release of an EU report discussing the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

The Association Agreement is the mechanism through which the EU hopes to gradually integrate Ukraine into its transnational union. The agreement lays the path for more trade and political cooperation between Kiev and Brussels. It also encourages internal reforms in Ukraine that would further democracy, anti-corruption efforts and the rule of law. The implementation report’s conclusions remain cautiously optimistic. Some economic reforms in the digital and energy sectors have been legislated over the past year, though worries about judicial independence endure.

Brussels probably hopes that the change in government in Washington will aid European efforts to integrate Ukraine. President-elect Joe Biden’s appointment of Anthony Blinken to head the State Department will likely encourage EU leaders to bind future aid prospects to substantial and concrete reforms in Kiev.

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