Ukraine pledges to meet preconditions for partnership with EU

Ukrainian parliament speaker Volodymyr Rybak pledged Thursday that his country will fulfill preconditions for signing a partnership deal with the European Union before the Eastern Partnership Summit in November. "I am confident that we will meet our obligations. And in late November, we will sign an agreement with the EU," Rybak told local media. To seal the partnership agreement with the 28-member block, during the next two months Ukraine will work out new bills that are aimed at reforming the prosecutor's office, the judicial system and the electoral law, Rybak said. He emphasized that the issue of signing the association agreement with the EU is crucial for Kiev's future political path. The EU and Ukraine initiated a political association agreement on March 30, 2012, in a landmark move toward the country's integration into the union. The deal would allow Ukraine access to the block's free trade area, which also includes non-EU nations such as Norway and Switzerland.