Kyiv expects the European Union to provide financial and technical assistance for the implementation of the provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.

"I have brought up the issue of providing financial and technical assistance for implementing provisions of the Association Agreement before EU Commissioner [Karel] De Gucht. First of all, [this concerns] the introduction of the EU standards and technical regulations in Ukraine," he said opening a government meeting on Wednesday.

Azarov also said that during his meeting on Wednesday with European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht, he raised the issue of facilitating investment into the Ukrainian economy and access to European programs that were previously closed to Ukraine. They also spoke about the assistance in promoting Ukrainian goods to the EU markets, in particular about the free access to public procurement in these countries.

The prime minister also said that Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Yuriy Boiko would work together with the commissioner on settling the abovementioned issues.