AJC Praises EU Association Agreements with Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova

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Jun 27, 2014, 07:26 ET

NEW YORK, June 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomes the association agreements between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova as vital steps for strengthening the former Soviet republics' democratic structures and economies.

"The most populous of the three countries, Ukraine, which has frequently been in the headlines in recent months, will benefit enormously from integration with the 28-member EU," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "President Poroshenko has fulfilled an election promise to put Ukraine's relations with the EU firmly back on track, and he will need strong U.S. and European support to stay the course."

The association agreement with Ukraine originally was to be signed earlier this year, but pressure and interference from Moscow, along with violence in the eastern part of the country, led to its delay. "President Poroshenko has demonstrated enormous courage in withstanding the ongoing threats from Russia, which seized the Ukrainian province of Crimea and continues to foster unrest in the eastern part of the country," said Harris.

The agreements, signed in Brussels today, serve to deepen the political and economic ties between the EU and the three countries with a long-term goal of integrating Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova into the EU's Internal Market that allows an unhindered flow of goods, capital, and people.

AJC was the first Jewish organization to call for U.S. recognition of the rebirth of Ukrainian independence in 1991, and to support the protest movement that led to the ousting of the corrupt regime of President Yanukovich. In April, an AJC delegation met with Mr. Poroshenko in Kiev. In May, AJC hosted Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, via video, at its Global Forum in Washington, D.C.

AJC has also maintained close ties with both Georgia and Moldova, most recently highlighted by an official visit to Chisinau, Moldova's capital, earlier this month, where AJC met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

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SOURCE American Jewish Committee