Eastern Partnership, as one of the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU, is a natural choice, determined by the Lithuanian and the EU interest to have safe, stable, economically strong and pro-European Eastern neighbours. Our goal is to have pro-active and efficient Eastern Partnership policy that would bring tangible results for these countries and their people. This could be achieved through the joint efforts of the EU institutions, EU Member States and Eastern Partners themselves.

Through the Eastern Partnership, the EU strengthens its bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the six Eastern European partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, supports reform processes of these countries, and seeks to bring them closer to the EU.

 Main results

Over the first four years of its implementation, Eastern Partnership initiative has brought a number of tangible results:

• Association Agreements, including Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas, as their integral parts, have been negotiated with Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Armenia; good progress has also been achieved in respective negotiations with Azerbaijan;
• considerable progress has been made in the area of visa facilitation and liberalization: 5 out of 6 partners already have or will soon have Visa Facilitation Agreements; 3 of them managed to advance even more – they now have Visa Liberalization Actions Plans, prepared specifically to them, full and effective implementation of which will bring these countries straight to the visa free travels with the EU;
• the multilateral cooperation dimension has been established and further strengthened: it now includes senior officials and experts working in a number of different areas, from agriculture and environment to trade, migration and CSDP;
• sectorial cooperation has also been enhanced, with the first Eastern partnership ministerial meetings in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs, and Transport, held in October 2013, in Luxembourg;
• cooperation between societies at large has been started and such formats as Civil Society Forum, Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities (CORLEAP), Business Forum and Youth Forum are now meeting on a regular basis, thus contributing to the monitoring of the implementation of the Eastern Partnership, but also to the policy shaping.

The third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius

The third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius will be held on the 28-29 November, 2013. The leaders and other high level representatives of the EU institutions, 28 EU Member States and the 6 Eastern European Partner States are expected to take part in the EaP Vilnius Summit. The event will be hosted by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and chaired by the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy.

Eastern Partnership Summits are held every two years (the first two Summits took place in the Czech Republic (Prague), 7 May, 2009, and in Poland (Warsaw), 29-30 September, 2011). During these meetings, the implementation and the results of the Eastern Partnership are discussed, the objectives for the next two years are determined and the prospects for the future are drawn.

Source: official site of the Summit

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Joint statement by President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso on Ukraine

Concerning the Ukrainian decision to suspend temporarily the preparations for signing the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), the European Union’s position remains clear. The offer of signing an unprecedented Association Agreement and a DCFTA is still on the table. This requires the necessary political will by the Ukrainian leadership, determined action and tangible progress on the conditions set out in December 2012.

Important progress has already been achieved by Ukraine. We are convinced that signing the Association Agreement and a DCFTA, the most ambitious agreement the European Union has ever offered, provides the best possible support for Ukraine’s economic situation, reform course and modernisation in view of building a prosperous and stable future for all Ukrainians. The EU stands ready to be more open and more supportive to those who are willing to engage in reforms and modernisation.

While being aware of the external pressure that Ukraine is experiencing, we believe that short term considerations should not override the long term benefits that this partnership would bring. However the European Union will not force Ukraine, or any other partner, to choose between the European Union or any other regional entity. It is up to Ukraine to freely decide what kind of engagement they seek with the European Union. Ukrainian citizens have again shown these last days that they fully understand and embrace the historic nature of the European association.

We therefore strongly disapprove of the Russian position and actions in this respect. The Association Agreement and a DCFTA are opportunities to accompany our common neighbours towards modern, prosperous and rule-based democracies. Stronger relations with the European Union do not come at the expense of relations between our Eastern partners and their other neighbours, such as Russia. The Eastern Partnership is conceived as a win-win where we all stand to gain. The European Union continues to stand ready to clarify to the Russian Federation the mutual beneficial impact of increased trade and exchanges with our neighbours, whilst fully respecting the sovereignty and independence of our Eastern Partners and the bilateral nature of Association Agreement and DCFTAs.

The European Union looks forward to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius this week. It will be an important moment to take stock of the situation and take forward the relations with our Eastern partners.