EU and Ukraine ratify Association Agreement

On Tuesday, in simultaneous ceremonies, the agreement was signed in Kiev and Strasbourg by Ukrainian and EU officials, respectively. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said before the vote that the agreement was a “first step, an important step” toward membership in the EU. He added that the simultaneous approval represents a “historic moment” that will define his country's westward-looking future. The pact will not be implemented until the end of 2015 as both the EU and Ukraine agreed to delay it in concession to Russia. Moscow feared that the Russian market would be flooded with goods from the EU, and have attempted to insert amendments to the agreement that would prevent this. The economic portion of the agreement was signed back in June.