EU agreed on the 17 January about the final terms for Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the supposed last hurdle on its arduous path toward membership.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelsohn said after held negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation led by Hryhoriy Nemyria, vice prime minister for Euro-integration said that "This is a very significant day for Ukraine".

"Today's agreement shows the way for Ukraine to fully enter the world trading system," Mandelsohn said. "This is the first step towards greater Ukrainian entry to the global and the European economies."

The European Union was the last trade partner to have reservations in Ukraine, specifically export duties on metals, seed, live animals, and other agricultural goods.

Ukraine's WTO entry will open the doors to a free trade agreement between Ukraine and EU, which may become the core of a New Enhanced Agreement, a substitute to the Partnership and Collaboration Agreement that was signed in 1998 and planned for 10 years.

Final agreement on Ukraine's WTO entry, following the working group report, can come as early as the next General Council meeting in Geneva scheduled for February 5 and 6, said President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko.

Ukraine, the largest country besides Russia and Iran outside the 151-member trading bloc, has been negotiating for WTO entry for 14 years. After the approval from the General Council, the Ukrainian Parliament would have to ratify the accession agreements into law.

The membership to the World trade organization is expected to bring global trade benefits for the country's economy in the mid- and long-term, economic experts said.

Despite some fears that membership in the WTO will have a negative influence on domestic manufacturers, experts said the most crucial changes were already introduced through legislation.

"Producers have been operating within the new legislation, worked out to comply with WTO rules, for several years," said Veronika Movchan, academic director at the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, a Kyiv-based think tank.

In fact she said, Ukraine is already about 70 percent in the WTO.