KIEV, October 23 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian exports to the European Union have increased by 23 percent thanks to trade preferences for Kiev, the European Commission said Thursday.
In March, the European Commission removed customs duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU until November 1. The European Parliament on Thursday voted to extend this until December 31, 2015.
"We see the effect of it – the 23 percent increase of the volumes of Ukrainian goods in the EU as compared to 2013," the head of the European Commission’s Ukraine delegation, Jan Tombinski, said at a meeting of Ukrainian and Lithuanian company representatives in Kiev.
Ukraine is seeking closer ties with the European Union. In September, the parliaments of Ukraine and the European Union ratified Ukraine's Association Agreement with the 28-member bloc. The treaty presupposes political and economic association between them.
The same month, Ukraine and the European Union agreed to delay the implementation of a free trade pact between Kiev and Europe until January 1, 2015. Russia has announced that it will raise customs duties for goods coming from Ukraine if Kiev starts implementing the pact earlier than agreed.
