The European Union and Ukraine have initialed on November 28, 2013 at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius (Lithuania) a comprehensive Air services agreement. This agreement opens the way towards a “Common Aviation Area” between the EU and Ukraine, based on common and reliable standards in important areas such as aviation safety and air traffic management. The Agreement aims to gradually open the respective aviation markets and integrate Ukraine into a wider European common aviation area. The fact that the Agreement has been initialed means only that the plenipotentiaries affixed their signature to every page of the treaty to confirm that the present version is the agreed-upon text, i.e. it doesn’t make the treaty binding. The Agreement is expected to become ratified the next year.
