OREANDA-NEWS. On the Knowledge Day, September 1, Ukraine celebrates another important event - entry into force of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, which is the first and an extremely important step in the return of our country to the European family. It was stated by President Petro Poroshenko in Kharkiv.

“Today, on the Knowledge Day, we celebrate another great holiday. On September 1, at 00:00, the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement entered into force - the first and an extremely important step in the return of our country to the European family,” the Head of State said.

He reminded how in November 2013, millions of Ukrainians all over the country came out to the streets with a demand to sign the Association Agreement, but the former authorities refused to sign it.

“Ukrainians forced to do everything for that to happen. The actions of Russia, which tried to hinder that, the referendum (in the Netherlands - editorial remark) and the skeptics who didn’t believe that we would succeed couldn’t stop us. Today, we celebrate the entry into force of this extremely important agreement,” the President noted.

Petro Poroshenko accentuated the importance of the implementation of 144 reforms that allowed our citizens to receive the visa-free regime with the EU countries. “The EU's authoritative assessment mission has rated Ukraine 12 points. All requirements were met flawlessly,” the Head of State said.