BERLIN
Germany’s lower house of the parliament, the Bundestag, has ratified the EU's association agreements with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia on Thursday.
The Bundestag overwhelmingly approved the agreements, which would pave the way for closer political and economic relations between the EU and the three countries, amid growing concerns for stability in the region after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat bloc (CDU/CSU), its coalition partner Social Democrats (SPD) and the opposition Green Party has voted in favor of ratifying the agreements, while the main opposition the Left Party has voted against.
The agreement also requires an approval by parliament’s upper house Bundesrat, but its decision looks assured as Chancellor Merkel’s coalition partners enjoy an overwhelming parliamentary majority.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told lawmakers on Thursday at the parliament that the EU Association Agreements were a source of great hope for people in the EU’s neighborhood, particularly in Ukraine, for a better future.
“It is a hope for economic development, more jobs.... it is a hope towards a modern and transparent democracy,” Steinmeier said.
He underlined that the EU’s efforts for closer ties with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia was not a policy directed against Russia.
“Our neighborhood policy is not against anyone. We want a close cooperation not only with our neighbors, but also the neighbors of our neighbors,” Steinmeier said.
The opposition Left Party voted against the EU’s Association Agreements, arguing that it may lead to confrontation with Russia.
Left Party lawmaker Andrej Hunko criticized the agreements and argued that the conflict in Ukraine was the outcome of the EU’s policies towards the region and NATO’s eastern enlargement, which has sparked serious concerns in Russia.
“We are against this agreement also because of its economic dimension...This agreement is based on radical neoliberal policies,” Hunko said.
The EU's association agreements with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia were signed in Brussels on June 27, 2014.
Ukraine was set to sign the agreement November in 2013, but the pro-Russian Ukrainian administration then in power suddenly shelved the agreement in the face of Russian opposition.
Protests mounted, ousting President Viktor Yanukovych, and a bloody conflict, in which Russia has been involved, erupted in the country's east.
Russia formally annexed the Crimean Peninsula on March 21, 2014 following a referendum that Ukraine, the EU and U.S. view as illegitimate.
