Today in Vienna, the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union together with the European Commission will host the 5th Eastern Partnership Business Forum followed by the Eastern Partnership’s Annual Conference on 7 December. The two events will bring together high level representatives from the EU and the six Eastern Partners – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine to help promote socio-economic development across the region.
EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn ahead of his participation said: “The Eastern Partnership Business Forum and Annual Conference are a great opportunity to highlight our joint achievements to date in the framework of the Eastern Partnership and its 20 Deliverables for 2020. Building on this, the EU will drive forward reforms to ensure the right business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises and create further opportunities for young people to study, work, participate fully in society.”
The events will serve as a platform to discuss how to further promote stronger economies and societiesin order to help increase prosperity and living standards of citizens and thereby lead to greater stability of the region.Panel discussions will also focus on how to further SMEs and to attract foreign direct investment, creating and sustaining job opportunities in Partner countries, and to fostering skills development in line with market demands.
The two events will take place in advance of next year’s 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership and will gather almost 500 participants, including government stakeholders, representatives of EU institutions, international financial institutions, Members of European Parliament, as well as non-governmental representatives from think tanks, civil society, businesses, youth, and academia.
