The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA) are three

free trade area A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...

s established between the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

respectively. The DCFTAs are part of each country's EU Association Agreement. They allow Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine access to the

European Single Market The European single market, also known as the European internal market or the European common market, is the single market comprising mainly the member states of the European Union (EU). With certain exceptions, it also comprises Iceland, ...

in selected sectors and grant EU investors in those sectors the same regulatory environment in the associated country as in the EU. The agreements with Moldova and Georgia have been ratified and officially entered into force in July 2016, although parts of them were already provisionally applied. The agreement with Ukraine was provisionally applied since 1 January 2016 and formally entered into force on 1 September 2017. Unlike standard free trade areas, the DCFTA is aimed to offer the associated country the "four freedoms" of the EU Single Market: free movement of goods, services, capital, and people. Movement of people however, is in form of visa-free regime for short stay travel, while movement of workers remains within the remit of the

EU Member States The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated population of over 449million as of 2024. The EU is often de ...

. The DCFTA is an "example of the integration of a Non- EEA-Member into the EU Single Market". The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

passed a resolution in 2014 stating that "pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine - like any other European state - have a European perspective and may apply to become members of the Union provided that they adhere to the principles of democracy, respect fundamental freedoms and human and minority rights and ensure the rule of law", thus formally recognizing the possibility of a future EU membership of the three countries.

DCFTA with Georgia

DCFTA with Moldova

DCFTA with Ukraine

Background

While work on signing a deep and comprehensive

free trade agreement A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating state (polity), states. There are two types of trade agreements: Bilateralism, bilateral and Multilateralism, m ...

between Ukraine and the EU first began in 1999, formal negotiations between the Ukrainian government and the EU Trade Commissioner were not launched until 18 February 2008. As of May 2011 there remained three outstanding issues to be resolved in the free trade deal: quotas on Ukrainian grain exports, access to the EU's services market and geographical names of Ukrainian commodities. Aside from these issues, the deal was ready. Despite those outstanding issues, Ukraine was ready to sign the agreement as it stood. Although it wanted stronger wording on enlargement prospects and access to the EU market for its truckers, Ukraine had more than many other candidates at the equivalent stage of the process. The finalised agreement was initialed on 19 July 2012. Ratification of the DCFTA, like the AA, has been stalled by the EU over concerns over the rule of law in Ukraine.Ukraine's Lutsenko jailed for 4 years (updated)

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is Ukraine’s first and most prominent English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1995 in Kyiv by American businessman Jed Sunden. In 2018, the publication was acquired by prominent Ukrainian businessman Adnan Kivan, foun ...

(27 February 2012) This includes the application of selective justice, as well as amending electoral laws. As a result, the role of Ukrainian oligarchs in sanctioning the agreement was also questioned. If Ukraine would choose the agreement, the

Eurasian Economic Commission The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is the executive body of the Eurasian Economic Union responsible for implementing decisions, upholding the EEU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the Eurasian Economic Union. The main task of t ...

's Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia would withdraw from free trade agreements with the country, according to

Russian president The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

ial advisor Sergei Glazyev. However, on 21 November 2013 a Ukrainian government decree suspended preparations for signing the agreement that was scheduled to be signed during a 28–29 November 2013 EU summit in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, and it was not signed.Ukraine fails to sign landmark deal at EU summit
,

Euronews Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...

(29 November 2013)EU and Ukraine say ‘door still open’ for future trade pact
,

(29 November 2013) The decision to put off signing the association agreement led to the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, called Euromaidan. During the

Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European Union, together with its member states, and six Eastern Europe, Eastern European countries. The EaP framework governs the EU's relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armen ...

summit in

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on 22 May 2015, the EU and its partners declared that the 'provisional application' of the DCFTA will start on 1 January 2016. However, the Riga Declaration also stated that "constructive efforts in the trilateral consultations on EU-Ukraine DCFTA implementation (...) are important", which Anders Åslund, Senior Fellow of the

Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...

, interpreted as meaning

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(that has been militarily intervening in Ukraine ever since the February 2014 Revolution) would have to give consent first. According to the EaP Civil Society Forum, the EU plans, in 2017–2020 to shift the focus of its assistance for 2017–20 to the implementation of the DCFTA to ensure legislation and parameters align with EU standards.

Effects

The EU-Ukraine DCFTA provisionally entered into force on 1 January 2016. According to

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, "The DCFTA will offer Ukraine a framework for modernising its trade relations and for economic development by the opening of markets via the progressive removal of customs tariffs and quotas, and by an extensive harmonisation of laws, norms and regulations in various trade-related sectors, creating the conditions for aligning key sectors of the Ukrainian economy to EU standards." "Unlike classical FTAs, it provides for both the freedom of establishment in services and non-services sectors, subject to limited reservations, and the expansion of the internal market for a set of key services sectors once Ukraine effectively implements the EU-acquis." Furthermore, Ukraine is "granted access to the EU internal market for the sectors concerned", which results in "an unprecedented level of integration".

Cancelled DCFTAs

Armenia

In addition to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

was also set to sign an Association Agreement with the EU, however, Armenia suddenly broke off negotiations in 2013 to pursue membership in the

Eurasian Economic Union The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)EAEU is the acronym used on thorganisation's website However, many media outlets use the acronym EEU. is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single ...

. Following a period of brief uncertainty between the EU and Armenian government, bilateral negotiations resumed on restructuring the relationship between Armenia and the EU. After extensive negotiations, Armenia and the EU finalized the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in November 2017, deepening political and economic ties between them. The new Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement can be seen as a "lite" version of the DCFTA, in which 96% of Armenian goods may enter the EU's single market with zero tariffs. As of 2019, the EU is Armenia's biggest export market. There are several political parties in Armenia which are opposed to Armenia's current membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. Bright Armenia, the Free Democrats and the

European Party of Armenia The European Party of Armenia (EPA) () is a Pro-Europeanism, pro-European political party in Armenia. It was founded on 6 November 2018 by Tigran Khzmalyan. The party supports Armenia's Accession of Armenia to the European Union, accession process ...

for example, support Armenia's withdrawal from the Eurasian Economic Union and wish to begin renegotiating an Association Agreement including a DCFTA between the EU and Armenia. On 26 March 2025, Armenia's parliament adopted a bill calling on the Armenian government to begin the process of gaining membership of the EU. This followed with renewed calls for Armenia to sign a DCFTA with the EU.

Proposed DCFTAs

* In 2015, former Commissioner Cecilia Malmström proposed to start negotiations for a DCFTA with

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. * In December 2016, the

released an assessment proposing to update and modernize the EU-Turkey Customs Union agreement. The report concludes with two options; Enhanced Commercial Framework (ECF) or Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA).

Implementation timeline

* Armenia–European Union Association Agreement: Cancelled, 2013 * Georgia–European Union Association Agreement: 1 September 2014 * Moldova–European Union Association Agreement: 1 September 2014 * Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement: 1 January 2016EU-Ukraine free trade 'set for 2016' - President Poroshenko

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

. 17 November 2015.

Notes

References

{{European Union candidates, state=collapsed Foreign trade of the European Union Third-country relations of the European Union Ukraine–European Union relations Georgia (country)–European Union relations Moldova–European Union relations Armenia–European Union relations Free trade agreements Free-trade areas European integration