BRUSSELS, March 21. /ITAR-TASS/. The political part of the Ukrainian-EU association agreement was signed in Brussels on Friday on the sidelines of the two-day EU summit.

The first to affix their signatures to the document were the chairmen of the European Council and the European Commission, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso. After them, the agreement was signed by Arseny Yatsenyuk appointed by the Supreme Rada as Ukrainian prime minister, and after him, by the heads of the 28 states and governments of the European Union.

The association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and the member states was originally planned to be concluded at the Eastern Partnership summit on November 28-29, 2013, in Vilnius. However, a week before, the Ukrainian cabinet headed by Nikolai Azarov suspended the preparation for the signing. After the decision, the opposition started mass protest demonstrations, which developed into violent clashes with police and led to the change of power in Ukraine.