"Relations with Ukraine are excellent," stated Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country currently holds the EU Presidency, after the EU-Ukraine Cooperation Council on 11 March. He notably welcomed progress made towards concluding a new bilateral agreement, which includes the creation of a Free Trade Area and a deeper partnership on energy.
Tymoshenko said she considered economic integration as key first step towards future EU membership, as the Union is both Ukraine's largest trading partner and its largest market. 25% of Ukrainian exports (worth €8.7 billion) are destined for the bloc, while 42% of its imports (worth €17.8 billion) come from the EU.
The importance of a stronger energy partnership has been highlighted lately by EU fears that Ukraine's gas row with Russia could cause interruptions to the Union's gas supplies. Russian gas accounts for 25% of the EU's overall gas consumption and is mainly shipped via pipelines which cross the Ukraine (EurActiv 05/03/08).
However, Tymoshenko reassured the EU that the Ukraine was "a reliable partner" which "will not violate [its] obligations in the area of transport and export of gas to EU countries".
During their meeting in Brussels, both sides also agreed to create a 'Common Aviation Area' and to prolong an Action Plan allowing Ukraine to take part in European programmes in the fields of education, research and the environment that are otherwise available only to EU member or candidate countries for another year.
