Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Integration, Legislation, Lithuania, Ukraine

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Mikser welcomed the recent entry into force of the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU which, according to the minister, demonstrates the EU's desire to deepen political and economic cooperation with Ukraine.

"Ukraine that is close to the EU is in the interests of all of us and it is important to continue to follow this path," the Estonian minister said. "Now we have to focus on implementing the agreement which, among other things, requires significant reforms, and make maximum use of the opportunities opened by it," Mikser said according to spokespeople for the Estonian Foreign Ministry.

The minister emphasized in particular the fight against corruption and improvement of the business climate and the judicial system. 

Mikser expressed Estonia's continuous support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"The Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine continues, but both Estonia and the EU stand up for Ukraine," Mikser said. "As long as Ukraine's territorial integrity has not been restored, and military action in eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea continues, the West needs to continue with a unified and principled policy, including with sanctions against Russia," he added.

Mikser said it is also important to guarantee that the OSCE monitors have safe access to the whole conflict area. 

Speaking about the Eastern Partnership Summit to take place in Brussels in November, Mikser stressed that Eastern Partnership is one of the priorities of the Estonian presidency of the Council of the EU.

"The Estonian presidency gives us an opportunity to focus political attention on Eastern Partnership. We must use the Eastern Partnership Summit to reaffirm our common political commitment and plan concrete steps that would encourage all of our Eastern Partners to drive forward the reforms and thereby get closer to the EU," Mikser said. 

The foreign minister of Estonia was also about to meet in Kiev with Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin. In addition, Mikser will speak at the Eastern Partnership Media Conference, which is one of the four Eastern Partnership Summit side events taking place during the Estonian presidency.