A new and differentiated approach is now needed in relation to the Eastern Partnership (EaP) states – the associate countries of the European Union that want to economically integrate into the European area and become EU members, on the one hand, and the non-associate countries that do not want to integrate into the EU, on the other hand. This is one of the proposals for reviewing the Eastern Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and reforming the EaP formulated by the Foreign Policy Association (APE). The Association’s executive director Victor Chirila, in an APE press club meeting at IPN, said the approach should be differentiated in relation to Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, on the one hand, and to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus, on the other hand.
The APE director said that the EU on March 4 this year launched consultations on the revision of the ENP, including the EaP. The consultations will last by the end of June. In autumn, the European Commission will present proposals concerning the future ENP. There will be reviewed the principles on which the ENP is based, its area of implementation and its instruments of action. The major goal is to revitalize the ENP by adjusting it to the new regional and internal realities in the states covered by the ENP.
Victor Chirila noted the APE suggests instituting different dialogue formats for the EaP states. For example, for Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova there should be distinct working groups on subjects of common interest, such as energy security and regional security. Partnership agreements should also be signed with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus, which would not envision political association and economic integration with the EU.
The executive director of the Foreign Policy Association also said that new mechanisms or forms of dialogue and interaction should be developed to strengthen regional security. For example, monitoring missions can periodically come to Moldova under the umbrella of the common defense policy of the common foreign and security policy. The capacities of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia to counteract Russian political, economic, propagandistic and military pressure should be strengthened.
Another proposal of the APE is for the development partners to provide financial assistance directly, in the form of grants or advantageous loans, for encouraging the SMEs that make progress in meeting the European standards. The rural development should become a top strategic area for Moldova as sustainable economic development without this is not possible.
The press club meeting was staged by the Foreign Policy Association with support from the Think Tank Fund – Open Society Foundation.
