The purpose of this article is to qualify from legal standpoint measures applied by Poland and other EU Member States unilaterally as to their compliance with the provisions of the Agreements under the WTO framework, the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states, on the other hand (hereinafter referred to as the Association Agreement) and EU law, as well as compare the dispute settlement procedures in the mentioned three forums and make a suggestion as to the likely results of a trade dispute between Ukraine and certain EU Member States in the mentioned forums. The relevance of such a study is determined by the importance of choosing the right forum for settling disputes, taking into account Ukraine’s course towards joining the EU.

Unilateral measures of the EU Member States appear to violate the provisions of the Agreements within the framework of the WTO, the Association Agreement and the EU secondary law. Therefore, despite Ukraine’s initiation of a trade dispute within the framework of the WTO, potentially this dispute can be considered in three forums – in the WTO, by arbitration panel in accordance with the Association Agreement and by the CJEU. In addition, this trade dispute can be resolved by involving third countries as mediators and/or applying unilateral trade measures both by Ukraine and the EU.

Comparing different forums for the resolution of this dispute, in the light of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, CJEU appears to be the most optimal and effective option, although the implementation of this option depends on the initiative of the European Commission and/or the desire of national courts to refer the provisions of secondary EU law to the CJEU for the preliminary ruling. Settlement of the dispute both within the framework of the WTO and within the framework of the Association Agreement seems impractical in view of the excessively long process, the unpredictability of a positive meaningful result and the lack of an effective procedure for the implementation of decisions.

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