European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule has said that the Association Agreement and the creation of a deep and comprehensive free trade area are compatible with observer status in the Customs Union of the CIS countries.

"It may certainly be possible for members of the Eastern Partnership to increase their cooperation with the Customs Union, perhaps as observers; and participation in a DCFTA is of course fully compatible with our partners' existing free trade agreements with other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) states," Fule said in Strasbourg on Wednesday, while discussing in the European Parliament the issue of the pressure exercised by Russia on the Eastern Partnership countries due to the signing of the Association Agreement.

At the same time, he said that "it is true that the Customs Union membership is not compatible with the DCFTAs which we have negotiated with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia."

"This is not because of ideological differences; this is not about a clash of economic blocs, or a zero-sum game. This is due to legal impossibilities: for instance, you cannot at the same time lower your customs tariffs as per the DCFTA and increase them as a result of the Customs Union membership," Fule said.

"Let me be clear: the development of the Eurasian Economic Union project must respect our partners' sovereign decisions. Any threats from Russia linked to the possible signing of agreements with the European Union are unacceptable," Fule said.

However, he said that this applies to all forms of pressure, including the possible misuse of energy pricing, artificial trade obstacles such as import bans of dubious WTO compatibility and cumbersome customs procedures, military cooperation and security guarantees, and the instrumentalization of protracted conflicts.

Fule said that the new generation of Association Agreements would "bring enormous transformative benefits through legal approximation, regulatory convergence, and market liberalization."

"Independent studies indicate that a DCFTA will bring substantial benefits. Exports to the EU could double over time, leading to increase in GDP of up to approximately 12%. But in order to implement these, our partners must enjoy full sovereignty over their own trade policies, which members of the Customs Union will not," Fule said.