The leaders of the European People’s Party (EPP) adopted a Declaration on the Eastern Partnership countries in a meeting before the EaP Summit of Riga. The meeting involved the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) Vlad Filat and Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici, IPN reports, quoting the press service of the PLDM.

The meeting of the EPP leaders, chaired by EPP President Joseph Daul, involved high-ranking European officials, including President of the European Council Donald Tusk, Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and leaders of the EPP member parties from the EaP countries as well as representatives of the opposition of EU member states.

The meeting assessed the progress made by the EaP countries until now and debated regional stability problems. There was signed the Declaration on the Eastern Partnership countries, which says that the EaP had a positive impact on the process of doing reforms in the member states and highlights the necessity of strengthening the partnership.

The Declaration approves of the efforts made by Moldova to implement reforms and of the achieved results that led to the liberalization of the visa regime with the EU. It also speaks about the recognition of the European perspective depending on the fulfillment of the assumed commitments.

According to the Declaration, the European Union must promote more powerful policies towards the EaP countries, based on the new geopolitical context, which would be adjusted to the efforts and ambitions of every country apart. Moreover, the EPP considers that a definite approach to developing the relations between the EaP counties and the EU should be adopted and the strategic importance of the Neighborhood Policy should be reasserted.