Proposal for a Council and Commission Decision on the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union and the European Atomic Energy Community in the Association Council established by the 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, in relation to the adoption of the rules of procedure of the Association Council and of the Association Committee, to the establishment of two Sub-Committees, an

The attached proposal constitutes the legal instrument for authorising the position of the Union and of the European Atomic Energy Community to be adopted in the Association Council established by the Association Agreement ("the Agreement") between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States and Ukraine, in relation to the adoption of the rules of procedure of the Association Council and of the Association Committee, the establishment of two Sub-Committees, and the delegation of certain powers by the Association Council to the Association Committee in Trade configuration.

Negotiations of the comprehensive and ambitious Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine were launched in March 2007. In February 2008, following the decision of accession of Ukraine to the WTO, the EU and Ukraine launched negotiations on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), as a core element of the Association Agreement. The Association Agreement is the most advanced of its typed ever negotiated by the EU in particular with regard to trade and economic integration, going far beyond a simple market opening. The aim is to accelerate the deepening of political and economic relations between Ukraine and the EU, as well as to advance Ukraine's gradual economic integration with the EU Internal Market in selected areas, notably through establishing a DCFTA.

On 23 June 2014, the Council adopted its decision on the signing, on behalf of the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, and provisional application of certain provisions of the remaining chapters of the Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) part 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 political chapters of the Agreement had previously been signed on 21 March 2014. Subsequently, the Agreement was signed in Brussels on Friday, 27 June 2014 in the margins of the European Council.

Ukraine ratified the Agreement in September and exchanged notifications in that regard with the EU within the same month meaning that provisional application may commence from 1 November 2014. However, following consultations with the Ukrainian side and in the context of the overall efforts for the implementation of the peace process in Ukraine, it was agreed to delay until 31 December 2015 the provisional application of the trade-related provisions of the 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 Association Agreement') (Title IV), and at the same time to continue the application of the Union's autonomous trade measures for the benefit of Ukraine.

Consequently, the provisional application of the relevant provisions of Titles III, IV, V, VI and VII, and the related Annexes and Protocols, of the Association Agreement is to take effect in stages. In respect of Titles III, V, VI and VII, and the related Annexes and Protocols, the notification provided for in Article 486 of the Association Agreement was made end of September, in conjunction with the notification of provisions provided for in Article 4 of Council Decision 2014/295/EU1. In respect of Title IV, and the related Annexes and Protocols, the notification was made so that the provisional application may take effect on 1 January 2016 following a further notification as provided for in Article 486 of the Association Agreement.

The provisional application is foreseen in view of keeping mutual economic interests and shared values in equilibrium, and the common will of the EU and Ukraine to start implementing and enforcing the eligible parts of the Agreement in order to advance an early reform impact on sector specific issues before the conclusion of the Agreement.

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)698: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:698:FIN

---