EU Opens Market for Ukraine, Says PM

The EU will unilaterally open the European market for Ukrainian goods and producers.

Brussels has also approved the decision to sign a political part of the Association Agreement with Kiev "within nearest time", Ukrainian Government's website has informed.

In November last year, protests leading to scenes of violence and to the ousting of president Viktor Yanukovych started short after the Ukrainian leadership refused to sign an Association Agreement with the EU, amid fears it could jeopardize the country's economic partnership with Russia.

Out of the EUR 11 B European loan to Ukraine, EUR 1.6 B is to be urgently granted to address the country's macro-financial trouble, the press releace also states, citing Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk short after he attended the emergency meeting of EU heads of state on Thursday.

This first tranche of the sum "will allow for Ukraine to carry out reforms and stabilize the economic situation". A separate part of the emergency package for Ukraine, as the information reports, is put aside for investment into Ukraine.

Regarding the unilateral establishment of a Free Trade Area, additional consultations are to be held in the country over the unilateral trade liberalization to avoid speculations that the move could be harmful to its economy.

Yatsenyuk also called on Russian-speaking Ukrainians to have no concern about the trade relations with Russia.

"The east must stay calm – everything going on in the direction of bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Russia must be continued. There are no reasons for Russia to apply trade barriers to Ukrainian goods, there haven’t been and don’t have to be," the Prime Minister asserted.