A European Union Association Agreement (for short, Association Agreement or AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU) and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links. The legal base for the conclusion of the association agreements is provided by art. 217 TFEU (former art. 310 TEC).

The provision of an association agreement was inserted in the Treaty of Rome on the EEC as a mean to ensure future cooperation of the Community with the United Kingdom, who had retreated from the negotiation at the Messina Conference of 1955. The first partners to benefit from the signature of such agreements were, in reality, Greece and Turkey in 1960.

The EU today typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in a country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets (industrial goods, agricultural products, etc.), and financial or technical assistance. Most recently signed AAs also include a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and the third country.

Anneli Tuulikki Jäätteenmäki, Master of Laws (born 11 February 1955 in Lapua) was the first female Prime Minister of Finland, in office from 17 April 2003 to 24 June 2003.

She worked as a lawyer from 1981 until 1987, when she was elected to the Finnish Parliament (Eduskunta). Jäätteenmäki was Minister of Justice from 1994 to 1995. She was chairwoman of the Centre Party of Finland from 18 June 2000 to 5 October 2003, although the first year was as acting leader during Esko Aho's sabbatical leave to lecture at Harvard University.

After eight years in opposition, she led the Centre Party of Finland to a narrow victory over the formerly largest party, the Social Democratic Party of Finland, in the parliamentary elections of 2003. According to the new constitution, which was in effect for the first time after this election, she was thereby given the first opportunity to form a new Cabinet. After successful coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats and the Swedish People's Party, she came to head a coalition cabinet which chiefly continued on the lines of its predecessor, Paavo Lipponen's second Cabinet, but introduced new measures to stimulate the economy, including tax cuts.

Metin Kazak (Bulgarian: Метин Казак; born 29 July 1972) is a Bulgarian politician and Member of European Parliament. He is a member of Movement for Rights and Freedoms. He was first elected to the European Parliament in 2007, and re-elected in 2009.

Jelko Kacin (born 26 November 1955 in Celje, Lower Styria, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Slovenian politician and Member of the European Parliament. During the Slovenian Independence War he was the Secretary of Information of Slovenia. He founded the Slovenian Press Agency on 3 June 1991 and the war (also called the Ten-Day War) started on 27 June 1991. He is the former president of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia and member of the bureau of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs.

He is also a substitute for the Committee on Transport and Tourism, vice-chair of the delegation to the EU–Moldova Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, a substitute for the delegation to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia–EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, and for the delegations for relations with Iran, the Korean Peninsula, and the countries of south-east Europe.