German Media Claims EC Rejects Russia's EU-Ukraine Association Proposal

Brussels has rejected an alleged “Russian proposal” to improve the long-soured trade relations between the EU, Russia and Ukraine, a German news magazine reported Saturday, citing sources within the European Commission.

Moscow’s 52-page “secret proposal" arrived in Brussels at a time when Russia-EU relations are at their lowest in many months and was an attempt to safeguard Russia’s economic interests after the free trade deal takes effect, German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel speculated.

The proposal would have imposed “unilateral binders on both Ukraine and the EU and was turned down,” the magazine’s source said, adding that the proposed trilateral agreement was meant to “bury” the EU-Ukraine association deal and was therefore regarded by Brussels as “pointless”.

The free trade zone between the EU and Ukraine is to become fully effective on January 1, 2016, as stipulated by the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

Fully aware of the negative impact this could have on its economy, Russia has been engaged in tense negotiations with Brussels and Kiev.

According to the magazine, Moscow’s proposal contained a list of 30 Russian enterprises registered in Crimea.

“If the EU accepted it, this would have become the first step towards an official recognition of the peninsula’s annexation by Russia,” Der Spiegel wrote in conclusion.

Crimea and its special-status port city of Sevastopol rejoined Russia following a region-wide referendum in March 2014.

Kiev and its Western allies have not recognized the results of the referendum, accusing Russia of violating Ukraine's territorial integrity. Moscow, in turn, has repeatedly stated the the reunification had fully complied with the international law.