26 May 2020, 11:27
How does the EU plan to work with Ukraine in the framework of the Eastern Partnership after 2020?
The Eastern Partnership turned 11 in May. This foreign policy format of
the EU cooperation with its neighbours was launched on May 7, 2009, at
the initiative of Poland and Sweden. It covers 27 EU member states and
six Eastern European nations — Azerbaijan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia,
Moldova and Ukraine. The initial goal of this format was to strengthen
cooperation between the countries of Eastern Europe and the South
Caucasus with the EU and renew the legal framework of relations by
replacing partnership and cooperation agreements with association
agreements, creating deep and comprehensive free trade zones, visa
liberalization between the EU and partner countries. During the 11
years of the Eastern Partnership, each of the participating countries
has achieved its independent results in the integration with the EU.
The current Eastern Partnership program «20 Deliverables for 2020»,
which identified key areas of cooperation between the EU and partner
countries, also finishes this year. Therefore, it is time to sum up and
form new principles of future cooperation.
How does the EU assess the EaP format
and the achievements within it?
Speaking about the Eastern Partnership policy, Josep Borrell, High
Representative of the Eoropean Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy, and Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood
and Enlargement, in a material for Europeyska Pravda outlined the
achievements of this format as following:
- since the beginning of the Association Agreement,
the volume of EU’s trade with Ukraine has increased by 49%;
- a visa-free regime has been launched, and due to it
almost 3 million Ukrainian citizens with biometric passports have
visited the European Union without a visa;
- Ukraine is one of the largest beneficiaries of the
Erasmus + program in the Eastern Partnership region: more than 9,000
Ukrainian and almost 4,000 European students, researchers and teachers
enjoyed academic exchange opportunities;
- since 2014, the European Union and its financial
institutions have raised more than €15 billion in grants and loans to
support Ukraine’s reforms.
Since June 2019 the European Commission has initiated consultations
with representatives of civil society, government, business and the
media from the Eastern Partnership countries in order to jointly form
long-term goals. These consultations resulted in a draft of the New
Eastern Partnership Policy framework.
What are the main directions of the
New Policy in the framework of the Eastern Partnership?
To meet the challenges of the time and be as human-oriented as
possible, new EaP policy outlines 5 main directions:
- sustainable economy;
- rule of law and security;
- environmental protection and climate resilience;
- digital transformation;
- inclusive society.
What exactly do new EaP policy has to
implement in these areas?
- In the field of economics — to deepen economic
integration and increase trade. The EU will support the full
implementation of the free trade agreement with Ukraine.
- The EU will also promote a green economy among
partners. The European Union will help its partners to modernize
production, reduce harmful emissions into the environment, and fulfil
the obligations under the Paris Agreement.