Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, expects that the Committee on the Parliamentary Liaison between Ukraine and the EU will adopt a well-grounded final act to reflect the most ambitious goals of Ukraine-EU relations and results that Ukraine expects from the summit on 22 November.
M. Tomenko made this statement during the opening of the 15th sitting of the Committee on Parliamentary Liaison Ukraine-EU held in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
"We appreciate support of the European Parliament in the key issues of relations with the EU. This legislative body of the European Union holds evidently the most sensible view on the perspectives of the integration of Ukraine to the EU", the Deputy Chairman of the Parliament declared.
M. Tomenko also stated that Ukraine and the EU were undergoing the essential stage in the development of bilateral relations, which was reflected in the intensive search of the mutually profitable ways to strengthen the cooperation via the Agreement on Association.
According to M. Tomenko, an integral part of the Agreement the provision on the formation of a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU. "We expect mutually beneficial functioning of the free trade zone for the European business and the Ukrainian producers. We faced the moment when the Parties shall reach a compromise and support the positive dynamics in the negotiations on the free trade zone", the Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasised.
He attached great importance to the visa free regime between Ukraine and the EU, and focused on the fact that the European Parliament supported the intentions of Ukraine to alleviate the visa regime.
"However, formal adoption of this document does not meet the current state of visa negotiations with the EU. Therefore, this document should be laid as a foundation for the forthcoming recommendations of the Verkhovna Rada", M. Tomenko explained.
The Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine expects the Action Plan on the visa free regime with the EU to be adopted during the coming Ukraine-EU Summit. He stated that this goal could be reached owing to the positive resolution of the Council of Ministers of 25 October 2010.