President Juncker welcomes Ukrainian reforms and shows concern about Minsk agreements

President Jean-Claude Juncker i received the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko i for bilateral talks taking in several matters including concerns around the implementation of the Minsk Agreements and progress towards visa liberalisation.

President Juncker and President Poroshenko

At a press conference succeeding their talks President Juncker regretted the ongoing violence in Ukraine and underlined that all parties had to carry out their commitments under the Minsk Agreements.

"I wish to reiterate my wish to see the two parties implement the entirety of the agreements Minsk. I am speaking especially to Russia because the Russian side does not seem to fulfill the duties that should be theirs."

The leaders' talks also spanned the liberalisation of visa regimes. The Commission President welcomed "enormous progress" made by the Ukrainian side to meet certain criteria for visa liberalisation and stressed that the Commission intends to propose visa liberalisation to Member States by the end of the year. At the same time he underlined that further progress is needed notably in the fight against corruption.

Progress on reforms, including constitutional reform and the electoral system, would allow the EU to disburse the last two tranches of the Macroeconomic Financial Assistance programme.

President Juncker also reiterated the importance of the provisional entry into force of the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement on 1 January 2016.

He finally welcomed that on this day Ukraine and its creditors signed an agreement which will allow a reduction in the country's financing needs and facilitate the implementation of reforms.