Russia will offer to Ukraine and the European Union to impose a number of amendments to the Association Agreement, reported Alexei Ulyukayev, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, on August 28.
According to him, Russia would like to adjust three key provisions of the Agreement. Firstly, it concerns the parameters and terms of reducing of the customs duties on goods from the EU by Ukraine. The parameters should be reduced gradually. Secondly, the EU technical regulations are much tougher, and the access of Russian goods on the Ukrainian market can be stopped. Third, there is required harmonization or mutual recognition of the phytosanitary control standards: there are three standards of certificate issuing in Russia, and one - in the EU.
There may be needed a transition period for solution of the second and third problems.
As a reminder, on August 27 Pavlo Klimkin, Foreign Minister of Ukraine, said that the Agreement text will not be changed at all. Also, the European Commission rejected any possibility of correcting the document.
