KIEV, May 30 - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has welcomed the vote of the Senate of the Netherlands on the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and also expressed the hope that the ratification procedure would be completed before the Ukraine-EU summit scheduled for July 13.

"Today's vote in the Dutch Senate sends an important signal from the Netherlands and the entire European Union to our Ukrainian friends: Ukraine's place is in Europe. Ukraine's future lies with Europe. I would like to thank the Dutch government and the leadership of other parties for their efforts in bringing this process to a positive conclusion. We are nearly there. Our Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area component, is now one step closer to being ratified. I would like to see the process now being finalised swiftly, in time for the EU-Ukraine Summit in July," Junker said in a statement posted on the website of the European Commission on Tuesday.