Representative of Ukraine to the European Union, Ambassador Mykola Tochytskyi said that the EU-Ukraine Association Council, which will meet in Brussels on February 11, will be the first opportunity to discuss at a high political level new initiatives of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, which formed the EU Associated Trio within the Eastern Partnership.

"This week, the ambitious initiative of the associated Trio (Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova) for in-depth cooperation with the EU will be on the agenda of the Council of Association and EU Institutions," Tochytskiy told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian diplomat said that the EU associated Trio's initiative, based on progress in the implementation of the association agreements with the EU by the three associate partners, is not a new idea, but was officially recorded only in early February, when EU High Representative Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for European Affairs Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Olivér Várhelyi was sent an official letter to the three foreign ministers of the countries concerned.

"In fact, this initiative is the implementation of 'more for more' one of the key principles of the development of relations with the EU. We are not trying to obtain an exclusive status or dissociate ourselves from other countries of the Eastern Partnership, but each state has its own tasks and speed in relations with the EU," Tochytskyi said.

At the same time, he said the EU associated Trio, although "strives for deeper cooperation, which is absolutely logical for the current stage of dialogue with the European Union," keeps "the doors always open for other states of the Eastern Partnership within the associated Trio, where we can share our experience and motivate others to the activation of mutually beneficial areas of interaction."

"Our aspirations and further steps have already been agreed in the capitals and will be discussed during the visit of Ukrainian officials to participate in the regular meeting of the Ukraine-EU Association Council, which will be held in Brussels on February 11," the ambassador said.

According to Tochytskyi, also this week the European Parliament will adopt a report on the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. "This is a very complex document that concerns not only the Agreement itself, but also a much wider range of our relations with the EU. We expect that the report will also outline the position of the European Parliament on the initiative of the associated Trio. Surely, we expect support from the European Parliament," the Ukrainian diplomat said.