The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is an agreement signed by the European Union with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus at the Prague Summit of May 7, 2009. In order to extend the relationships within this partnership, annual meetings of foreign ministers and a high-ranking meeting are held every two years, IPN reports.
The partnership’s goal is to progressively include these countries in the EU economy by creating free trade areas and signing mobility and security pacts that envision fighting illegal migration, modernizing the asylum systems and instituting integrated border management bodies in order to achieve the final goal of removing visas. Among other objectives of the partnership are to promote better mobility of the labor force, increased energy security for the EU and its partners and programs that support the economic and social development of the partner countries.
The partnership also envisions the significant extension of the political engagement. The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said then that the political association and economic integration objectives of the Eastern Partnership can be achieved only if both of the sides show firm political will and commitment. “We must invest more in the reciprocal prosperity and stability. These efforts will be quickly compensated by important political and economic benefits and will lead to greater stability and security for the EU and our Eastern partners,” he stated.
The political association between a partner state and the EU means much more intense political and institutional dialogue, greater solidarity than now, and closer coordination of the foreign policy positions at regional and international levels. Victor Chirila, executive director of the Foreign Policy Association said that at practical level the political association will mean the adjustment of the partnership’s current institutional framework. After the Association Agreement with the EU is signed, EaP countries’ positions on foreign policy matters will be much closer coordinated with those of the EU member states.
Juris Poikans, Ambassador at Large for the Eastern Partnership of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, in an interview for IPN said the Eastern Partnership initiative does not provide for accession prospects, but this is only a facet of the EaP medal. When the initiative was launched, there was pursued only one goal – to create a circle of stable democratic states that would function steadily and well. For the purpose, the EU proposed the form of Association Agreement, which mans free trade and, by free movement, strengthening of the interhuman relations. The Eastern Partnership’s role as policy of the EU is increasing.
The next ordinary Eastern Partnership Summit takes place in Vilnius, Lithuania, on November 28-29. At this summit, Moldova is to initial the Association Agreement. It was planned that Ukraine will sign the Association Agreement with the EU at this event, while Armenia and Georgia will also initial it.
An Association Agreement between the EU and a partner state is initialed when the negotiations on it are closed. In the initialing ceremony, the chief negotiators put their initials on every page of the agreement. The accord comes into force after it is signed and ratified by both of the sides. In Moldova’s case, 80% of the provisions of the agreement will take effect immediately after the signing, which is projected to take place in the first half of next year.
The next EaP Summit will be held in Riga in the first half of 2015.
