The year 2022 was a turning point for progress in all Eastern Partnership countries. The war started by Russia in Ukraine and the Russian Federation’s influence in the Eastern Partnership countries were the main impediments to progress, Sergiy Gerasymchuk, deputy executive director and director of the Regional Initiatives and Neighborhood Program of the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”, stated in a news conference at IPN in connection with the presentation of a study of Moldova’s progress in the Eastern Partnership.
According to him, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had an impact on all processes and made them go much slower. This is not just about Ukraine. The escalation of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan also had an impact on the indicators in the two countries, and the frozen conflicts in Georgia and Moldova, respectively, had a negative impact on the two countries. The war also influenced ecological parameters. In Ukraine, this indicator has reached a catastrophic proportion due to the explosions that have occurred.
Sergiy Gerasymchuk noted that Moldova does not have bad indicators, nor does Ukraine, which has progressed in many directions. As far as the justice sector reform is concerned, Moldova and Ukraine have made progress has regards normative acts. The situation is slightly worse in Georgia, given that the party that rules Georgia has rather controversial relations with the European Union. It is yet to be seen how these reforms will be implemented.
Sergiy Gerasymchuk also said that there no major results were achieved in economic processes, because Ukraine has a budget deficit of about 40 billion dollars. Ukraine is largely dependent on EU and U.S. aid. For other countries, the situation is better.
As to freedom of expression, on the one hand, the formal criteria put forward by the European Commission have been met. On the other hand, the opposition media have been oppressed in Georgia. In Moldova, the media channels divided into two groups. In Ukraine, self-censorship on the part of journalists who avoid discussing more important topics is witnessed sometimes.
According to Sergiy Gerasymchuk, civil society has manifested itself in all countries, being an agent of change in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.
According to Natalia Stercul, APE executive director, national coordinator of the joint study of the EaP countries, in each area there are pluses and minuses for each EaP country. There is room for improvement yet. Moldova’s indicators regarding progress in the Eastern Partnership can be assessed as average.
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