Slovak Parliament approved the EU Association Agreement with Ukraine, with 132 of the 134 MPs present in the chamber voting in favour of the document. The agreement aims to bring Ukraine closer to European standards. It should give this country access to the funds of the European Investment Bank and form a mutual free trade zone.
This is expected to translate into hikes in Ukraine's exports, mainly of textiles, food and steel, with an extra value of over €1 billion per year. In addition, the agreement should help to speed up the visa liberalisation of the country, and Ukraine should be able to attend joint summits. The economic part of the Association Agreement will become effective as of January 2016. In order for the document to become valid, it needs to be ratified by all EU-member states. The parliaments of Ukraine and the European Union ratified the document simultaneously last week.
