The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland Jacek Czaputowicz suggests adding important annexes to the Association Agreements with the EU signed by three of the EaP countries, constituting a secretariat and an EaP presidency, establishing a regional economic area and introducing a regional roaming system for the EaP countries. These and other proposals and assessments were formulated by the Polish minister in the article “The future of the Eastern Partnership” that was published on EurActiv.com and taken by IPN.
Jacek Czaputowicz notes that ten years after its launch, the EaP is still not perfect, as it constitutes a sort of a synthesis of political ambitions, strategic potential and geopolitical compromises. Ten years after its creation, the Eastern Partnership is in need of review to adapt it to the changing world and new geopolitical realities in the region. A new approach towards the future of the EaP in three distinctive areas is required: in the area of legal approximation, institutionalisation and sectoral cooperation.
“As for legal approximation, it is done by implementing the Association Agreements, Partnership and Cooperation Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements. By fulfilling the provisions of the abovementioned contractual relations, the EaP countries transpose into their national legal systems large parts of the EU’s acquis communautaire. Political reforms should strengthen public institutions, restore people’s trust and build resilience to internal and external pressures. They should result as well in a significant drop in corruption and strengthen the rule of law across the region. It is in our shared interest to create an area of security, stability and prosperity in the EU’s immediate neighborhoods,” stated Jacek Czaputowicz.
He underlined it is crucial to make the Association Agreements signed by three EaP countries, including the Republic of Moldova, as relevant as possible for the changing times and challenges ahead, as well as to further enhance sectoral cooperation. “We could call them “Association Agreements plus” to indicate a political process leading to their modernization.
“The second area we should reflect on is the institutionalization of the Eastern Partnership. To this end we could create a secretariat to manage the already existing system of the EaP platforms and panels. It could also serve as a tool to build common positions, present ideas and act more closely together as a regional group. It could have a light formula, be located in Brussels and involve seconded diplomats from the EaP countries,” wrote the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
He said a rotating presidency of the EaP countries could be also envisaged. It would allow for more cooperation with the troika of EU Presidencies and with EU institutions in planning and delivering the political agenda. The country holding the presidency could also host an annual high-level meeting on a subject that is important for further integrating the region with the EU. Both – a secretariat and an EaP presidency – would give the countries of the region more ownership of the whole process.
“The third area to be considered is enhancing sectoral cooperation. We do have many common interests, such as jointly tackling migratory flows and pressures. Another important pillar of sectoral cooperation is connectivity. The new Indicative TEN-T Investment Action Plan provides funding for infrastructure investments worth almost €13 billion, which can translate, according to the European Commission data, to 4800 kilometres of roads and railways, 6 ports, and 11 logistics centres in the EaP countries. A regional roaming agreement among our partners would be the first step towards a common roaming space between the EU and the EaP, which should bring us closer together. Other areas of possible sectoral cooperation are energy security, environmental protection, border management, aviation safety, to indicate just a few,” noted Jacek Czaputowicz.
According to him, even more ambitious would be the establishment of a regional economic area for the EaP countries, following the example of CEFTA created by V4 countries before their accession to the EU. The agreement still operates with success in the Western Balkans (with Moldova already a member of the agreement since 2007). It would certainly allow the EaP countries to integrate among themselves - and later with the EU countries - through the liberalisation of financial services or of the movement for qualified professionals.
“Members of the Eastern Partnership do differ. They also demonstrate various aspirations when it comes to the level of cooperation they seek with the European Union. Yet, the Eastern Partnership still represents an approach they can all benefit from. Ten years after its creation, the EaP holds the potential to bring our neighbors closer to the European Union. Together we should reflect on an ambitious political agenda and a narrative that will keep the EaP attractive for countries, but first and foremost – for the people,” the minister concluded in the article “The future of the Eastern Partnership”.
The EaP was launched ten years ago on the initiative of Poland and Sweden. The Polish and Swedish diplomacies, together with some other EU Member States, were involved in establishing a special partnership with six such countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
