Foreign Ministers of the European Union and their counterparts from five of the six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) met in Brussels on 11 December. The meeting was chaired by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and attended by EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi.
The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on the Eastern Partnership, take stock of its achievements, and identify concrete recommendations for the future of the policy.
At the meeting, ministers addressed how the Eastern Partnership could continue to ensure that the needs of member states and partner countries are met, what should be the key priorities of joint work in 2024, how to accelerate the delivery of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership, and how to increase cooperation with regions such as Central Asia and the Western Balkans, and synergies with other regional policies such as the Black Sea Synergy.
Ministers discussed areas of cooperation, including connectivity, transport, energy, green and digital transition, and human rights, civil society, rule of law, and security matters.
Ministers expressed support for concrete deliverables for 2024, notably in the area of regional roaming, road safety and transport.
“The EU, Member States and partners will step up their efforts to implement the Eastern Partnership’s agenda for recovery, resilience and reform, as well as tackling challenges related to the ongoing consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine for the entire region,” said a press release from the Council of the EU.
Ministers were also addressed by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.
