During the EU-Ukraine Summit held in Paris in September 2008, the parties reached an understanding and accorded that the new enhanced agreement would be known as the Association Agreement.
Twenty one rounds of negotiations on the Association Agreement were held between 2007 and 2012. Eighteen of negotiation rounds were focused on the chapter of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.
The conclusion of the negotiations on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement had been announced at the EU-Ukraine Summit on December 19, 2011. This Agreement is more extensive in comparison with similar agreements concluded between the EU and other Central or Eastern European countries.
On March 30, 2012 the EU and the Ukrainian counterparts initialled the Association Agreement in order to further strengthen relations and cooperation. Initialling of the chapter on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area was held on July 19, 2012.
The translation of the draft Association Agreement into Ukrainian and into official languages of the EU member states had been carried out from late 2012 to mid-2013.
On May 15, 2013 the European Commission recommended to the EU Council to sign the Association Agreement, and to allow its provisional application until the ratification procedures would be completed by all EU Member States.
On August 9, 2013 the draft Association Agreement was published on the government website.
On the proposal made by the EU and the consent of the Ukrainian counterparts, the agreement received its final and official title “Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part”.
The signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU had two stages.
The political part of the Association Agreement as well as the Final Act of the Summit was signed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk during the extraordinary EU – Ukraine Summit held on March 21, 2014.
In particular, the Preamble, Title I "General Principles" Title II "Political dialogue and reform, political association, cooperation and convergence in foreign and security policy" and Title VII “Institutional, general and final provisions" of the Agreement.
At the Summit, Ukraine expressed commitment to comply with Ukraine's obligations under Article 8 of the Association Agreement concerning the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998 after amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine.
The economic part of the Association Agreement was signed during the meeting of the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko with the European Council, leaders of the European Union, the Heads of State and Heads of Government of the 28 EU Member States on June 27, 2014. In particular Title III “Justice, Freedom and Security”, Title IV “Trade and trade-related matters”, Title V “Economic and sector cooperation" and Title VI “Financial cooperation and anti-fraud provisions". This economic part of the Agreement together with the previously signed political part constitutes one single document.
Parliament of Ukraine and the European Parliament ratified the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU simultaneously on September 16, 2014.Ukrainian side handed over the certificates of ratification to the depositary completing thus all internal procedures.
The Association Agreement in its scope and thematic coverage is the biggest international legal document in the history of Ukraine and the biggest international agreement with a third country ever concluded by the European Union.
It defines a new format of relations between Ukraine and the EU on the basis of "political association and economic integration" and serves as a strategic guideline for systematic socio-economic reforms in Ukraine.
The chapter on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU defines the legal framework for the free movement of goods, services, capital and partly labour force between Ukraine and the EU. It also defines regulatory convergence aimed at the gradual integration of Ukraine into the EU common market.
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