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EU Proposes Eastern Partnership To South Caucasus States, Ukraine An

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  • EU Proposes Eastern Partnership To South Caucasus States, Ukraine An

    EU PROPOSES EASTERN PARTNERSHIP TO SOUTH CAUCASUS STATES, UKRAINE AND MOLDOVA

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    03.12.2008 18:35 GMT+04:00

    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Commission's proposal for a new Eastern
    Partnership represents a step change in the EU's relations with
    Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus , Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. This
    ambitious Partnership foresees a substantial upgrading of the
    level of political engagement, including the prospect of a new
    generation of Association Agreements, far-reaching integration into
    the EU economy, easier travel to the EU for citizens providing that
    security requirements are met, enhanced energy security arrangements
    benefitting all concerned, and increased financial assistance. The EU
    proposes much more intensive day to day support for partners' reform
    efforts through a new Comprehensive Institution Building program,
    and a new multilateral dimension which will bring partners together to
    address common challenges. The new Partnership includes new measures
    to support the social and economic development of the 6 countries,
    and five flagship initiatives that will give very concrete evidence
    of the EU's support, the press office of the European Commission in
    Yerevan told PanARMENIAN.Net.

    European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated, "Only
    with strong political will and commitment on both sides will the
    Eastern Partnership achieve its objective of political association
    and economic integration. We need to make an even greater investment
    in mutual stability and prosperity. This will be quickly compensated
    by important political and economic benefits and will lead to more
    stability and security both for the EU and for our Eastern partners."

    "The time is ripe to open a new chapter in relations with our
    Eastern neighbors," Commissioner for External Relations and European
    Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner added. "Building on
    the progress of the last years we have prepared an ambitious and
    at the same time well-balanced offer. The security and stability
    of the EU is affected by events taking place in Eastern Europe and
    in the Southern Caucasus. Our policy towards these countries should
    be strong, proactive and unequivocal. The EU will continue with the
    successful approach of tailor-made programs on a new scale and add a
    strong multilateral dimension. It remains our principle though that
    progress must go hand in hand with reform efforts by our partners,
    but this new package also offers more intensive assistance to help
    them meet their goals."

    The European Commission is willing to pull the EU's six post-Soviet
    neighbors closer to the West by recognizing their "European
    aspirations" and creating a new "European Economic Area." But a draft
    communique indicates that EU-Russia relations have preferential status.

    The new EU policy - first floated by Poland and Sweden in May -
    proposes signing "Association Agreements" with Belarus, Moldova,
    Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the next few years and to
    "acknowledge the European identity and aspirations of these countries."

    The draft communique underlines that the new pacts, which recall
    the association treaties signed with Poland or Lithuania prior to
    the 2004 round of enlargement, do not amount to a promise of future
    accession. "The conclusion of Association Agreements will be without
    prejudice to the partners' European aspirations."

    The moves include establishing "a single deep and comprehensive Free
    Trade Area, providing the basis for the development of a common
    internal market, such as the European Economic Area [EEA]," which
    the EU currently has with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

    The Eastern Partnership will aim to create visa free travel in the
    long-term, but to waive the cost of obtaining EU visas more quickly
    and to set up Common Application Centers in the six countries to help
    people enter the EU's passport-free Schengen zone.

    The draft communique proposes holding an "Eastern Partnership
    Summit" in June 2009 to launch the project. Follow-up meetings of
    EU and Eastern Partnership foreign ministers are to take place each
    Spring. "Senior officials" from the "27 + 5(6)" countries are to meet
    twice-yearly to prepare for the ministerials.

    The European Partnership is to raise the EU's per capita spending in
    the region from the current â~B¬6 per head to â~B¬12 per head by 2013
    and â~B¬20 per head by 2020, compared to the current â~B¬30 per head
    in the Balkans. The shift will cost â~B¬2.1 billion, atop the lost
    income of â~B¬75 million per year as a result of waiving EU visa costs.

    --Boundary_(ID_Qt3rueW4mLB38O5aChPz0g)--
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