Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine enters fully into force on Friday.

The Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together: it promotes deeper political ties and stronger economic links, as well as respect for common European values. The DCFTA provides a framework for modernising Ukraine's trade relations and economic development by opening up markets and harmonising laws, standards and regulations with EU and international norms.

“September 1, 2017 is the day that will forever go down in the history of Ukraine. Today, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU comes into force," President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko  wrote on his Facebook page on Friday morning.

According to him, an in-depth and comprehensive free trade zone of Ukraine with the European Union has been functioning from the beginning of 2016.

"Since January 1, 2016, we have an in-depth and comprehensive free trade zone functioning with the European Union. The foreign trade in goods and services of Ukraine with the EU countries has grown by 22% during six months of this year. Almost 40% of our trade is accounted for the European Union. A historical change of the geographical structure of Ukrainian exports has taken place in favor of increasing its volume to the EU countries. This is already irreversible processes of integration of the Ukrainian economy to the EU market," the Ukrainian president said.