Ukraine has made progress on all requirements of the European Union needed to sign the Association Agreement.

Ukraines representative to the EU, Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, said this in an interview with the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper.

I can responsibly state that the Ukrainian side has made progress on all 11 criteria of the so-called list of (EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan) Fule, and we currently have every chance of signing the agreement, Yeliseyev said.

He said that criticism of the actions of the Ukrainian authorities was based on a different methodology for the assessment of these efforts. The EU says that we should achieve significant progress, but it does not demand that we fully meet the criteria. Everybody in Europe understands that fundamental reforms mentioned in the December conclusions of the EU (Foreign Affairs) Council cannot be implemented in such a short time, Yeliseyev said.

He said he was optimistic about the possibility of signing the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine in Vilnius: I was, is and will be an optimist. Even in the most difficult days in the context of the prospects of signature Ukraines Mission to the EU and I personally worked hard to ensure the signing of the Association Agreement. However, of course, if we compare the current situation with the one that was several months ago and even with the situation last December, the difference is very significant. There are positive trends, and we are achieving progress on the criteria set out in the EU Council conclusions of December 10, 2012.

He also added that an additional reason for optimism was a European integration drive, which recently appeared in society and in the Verkhovna Rada, where all efforts are united to support the Association Agreement.

Yeliseyev noted that there is currently no one hundred percent guarantee that the agreement will be signed. There will be a guarantee of signature only when the parties sit down at the table and take pens. Then I will recognize that there is one hundred percent confidence. People in Kyiv understand this. I think that now it would be irresponsible to say that we already have a guarantee of the signature of the Association Agreement at the Vilnius summit, Ukraines representative to the EU said.

Interfax