EU Association Deal Not Conferring Candidate Status, Aid Guarantees to Ukraine

The EU-Ukraine association deal does not stipulate granting Ukraine a status of a candidate country for joining the union, does not provide Kiev with guarantees for military or financial assistance, or a right for its citizens reside and work freely within the EU territory, the European Council said on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — While seeking to enhance the mobility of citizens, the EU-Ukraine Agreement does not grant to Ukrainian nationals the right to reside and work freely within the territory of the Member States."

"While aiming to establish a close and lasting relationship between the parties to the Agreement based on common values, the Agreement does not confer on Ukraine the status of a candidate country for accession to the Union, nor does it constitute a commitment to confer such status to Ukraine in the future," the European Council said in a statement.

"The Agreement reaffirms cooperation with Ukraine in the fields of security, notably with regard to conflict prevention, crisis management and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It does not contain an obligation for the Union or its Member States to provide collective security guarantees or other military aid or assistance to Ukraine," the council said.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement was signed in 2014, and is required to be ratified by all the 28 member states of the European Union to enter into force. The agreement has not yet been ratified by the Netherlands, whose nationals rejected the deal in an April referendum.