Eastern Partnership
Ministers discussed preparations for the launch of the EU's Eastern PartnershipEastern Partnership, on the basis of input from the Presidency and the Commission (a presidency paper, a presidency progress report, and a communication from the Commission).
They reaffirmed the political commitment to establish the Eastern Partnership.
They also noted that there were a number of issues, such as:
- visa liberalisation,
- the articulation between the Eastern Partnership and the Black Sea Synergy,
- the participation of third countries and financing,
which will require further discussion as part of the process of developing and implementing the Eastern Partnership.
To recall, the Eastern Partnership is a multinational forum formed by the EU Member States and six eastern European and southern Caucasus states:
- Armenia,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Georgia,
- Moldova,
- Ukraine.
It is intended to facilitate the negotiation of free trade zones for services and agricultural products, as well as partnership agreements and visa agreements.