Eastern Partnership

What is the Eastern Partnership?

The Eastern Partnership aims to reinforce the political association and economic integration of six Eastern European and South Caucasus partner countries:

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Georgia
the Republic of Moldova
Ukraine

Belarus suspends partnership

As of 28 June 2021, Belarus has suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership.

EU relations with Belarus

Russia and Turkey are not integrated in the EaP framework since both countries have acquired a different status in their relationship with the EU:

Turkey - accession country
Russia - strategic partnership

The Eastern Partnership is a specific Eastern dimension to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Through the ENP, the EU works with its southern and eastern neighbours to achieve the closest possible political association and the greatest possible degree of economic integration.

European Neighbourhood Policy (EEAS)

Stronger together

Working together is even more important against the background of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of its global response to the coronavirus outbreak, the EU is mobilising an emergency support package for EaP countries worth up to €1 billion.

The EU supports partner countries in the area of public health, as well as in mitigating the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.

The Eastern Partnership is based on fundamental values and rights

Ten years of the Eastern Partnership

2019 marked the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. Several high-level events were organised in May 2019 with the participation of the six Eastern partner countries, EU member states and stakeholders.

Ten years of the Eastern Partnership (background information)

20 Deliverables for 2020

All partners agreed to deliver tangible results by focusing on achieving 20 Deliverables for 2020. These includes cross-cutting issues - like engagement with civil society and women’s empowerment and gender balance - as well as building a stronger economy, enhancing good governance, improving connectivity and fighting climate change, and investing in people and society.

20 Deliverables for 2020 (background information)

The Eastern Partnership: Recovery - Reform - Resilience

Beyond 2020

On 18 March 2020, the European Commission published the joint communication Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Reinforcing Resilience – an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all. In it, five policy objectives are outlined:

resilient, sustainable and integrated economies
accountable institutions, the rule of law and security
environmental and climate resilience
digital transformation
fair and inclusive societies

The five flexible and connected long-term objectives are the result of a broad and inclusive consultation and aim to respond to new priorities, strengthen resilience to address common challenges, foster sustainable development and deliver concrete results for citizens.

The Eastern Partnership beyond 2020 (EEAS factsheet)

The Council broadly welcomed the joint communication in the Council Conclusions adopted on 11 May, 2020.

Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Council approves conclusions (press release, 11 May 2020)

At the 2021 EaP summit, EU and EaP leaders committed to enhancing their cooperation on the basis of the EaP policy beyond 2020.

Their long term objectives are accompanied by an ambitious €2.3 billion regional economic investment plan (EIP, including country flagship initiatives) to support post-COVID-19 socio-economic recovery and strengthen longer-term resilience by accelerating the green and digital transformations. The plan is expected to leverage up to €17 billion in public and private investments.

Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020

Why an Eastern Partnership?

Security, stability and prosperity, democracy and rule of law in Eastern Europe and the southern Caucasus are a priority for the EU.

In June 2008, the European Council invited the Commission to prepare a proposal for an Eastern Partnership (EaP) to support regional cooperation and reinforce EU relations with its eastern neighbours.

Following the conflict in Georgia and its repercussions on the regional stability, the extraordinary European Council of 1st September 2008 asked for this work to be accelerated.

The establishment of a single, coherent policy framework towards countries that became the new EU eastern neighbourhood became a necessity.

The Eastern Partnership was launched in 2009, as a joint initiative between:

the EU
EU member states
six Eastern European and South Caucasus partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine

Differentiation and inclusivity

The EU is committed to having strong, differentiated and mutually beneficial cooperation with all six EaP partners, whatever the individual level of ambition in their relations with the EU.

In exchange for undertaking political and economic reforms, the EaP offers:

new contractual relations
deep and comprehensive free trade agreements
steps towards visa liberalisation and a multilateral framework in which to discuss these issues

The Eastern Partnership:

offers a solid framework for multilateral co-operation
facilitates deepening of the bilateral cooperation with the EU

Involvement of broader society

The Eastern Partnership takes into account not only governments but also:

• the views of civil society
• the perspective of local and regional authorities
• the opinion of business leaders
• parliamentary assemblies

Multilateral cooperation

Partner countries share many common challenges. Addressing them jointly promotes cooperation and the exchange of best practice.

Multilateral cooperation in the Eastern Partnership takes place across a wide array of issues:

strengthening institutions and good governance, including resilience to external changes
developing market opportunities through economic integration and trade agreements
ensuring energy security and improving interconnection for energy and transport
enhancing mobility and contacts between people with visa dialogue negotiations

Bilateral cooperation

Association agreements (AA)

The EU has put forward concrete ideas for each eastern partner country through a new generation of association agreements. These replace the partnership and cooperation agreements concluded with partner countries in the late 1990s.

The EU has negotiated with EaP partners a series of association agreements which provide:

enhanced political association
increased political dialogue
deeper cooperation on justice and security issues

They constitute a plan of reforms that will bring the partner countries closer to the EU by aligning their legislation and standards to the EU ones. This will improve peoples' lives in a tangible way.

Free trade agreements (DCFTA)

As part of the association agreements the EU has concluded negotiations on deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to:

improve access to goods and services
reduce tariffs, quotas, barriers to trade
ensure stable legal environment
align practices and norms

Current status

Georgia, republic of Moldova and Ukraine: the AA/DCFTA agreements concluded in 2014 have entered into force and have brought the relations between these partners and the EU to a new level
Armenia: a comprehensive and enhanced partnership agreement was signed in 2017 in the margins of the 5th Eastern Partnership
Azerbaijan: negotiations for a new comprehensive agreement started in 2017
Belarus: as of 28 June 2021, Belarus has suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership.

Visa dialogue

EaP partner countries have been among the first to benefit from mobility partnerships helping their citizens to move around Europe in a secure environment.

Visa facilitation and readmission agreements promote the mobility of the citizens of the eastern partners countries through visa facilitation, and provides rules for managing the return of irregular migrants through readmission agreements.

With the visa liberalisation dialogues, the EU is taking gradual steps towards the long-term goal of visa-free travel for the citizens of certain EaP partners.

In the Council

Responsible bodies

The Working Party on Eastern Europe and Central Asia (COEST) handles all aspects of EU relations and cooperation with countries in:

Eastern Europe: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine
Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Working Party on Eastern Europe and Central Asia (COEST)

The Trade Policy Committee also advises and assists the Commission in negotiating and concluding trade agreements with the EaP partner countries.

Trade Policy Committee

Negotiations of international agreements with the Eastern partners

The Council is involved at all stages of negotiating and adopting the international agreements with the six Eastern European and South Caucasus partner countries:

providing the mandate for negotiations
signing the agreement on behalf of the EU
adopting the final decision implementing it into EU law

In detail

Member state representatives have to give their mandate for negotiations for these specific agreements covering areas of shared competency.

At the end of negotiations, the Council decides on the signature and conclusion of the agreement, based on the proposal from the Commission and the High Representative.

The Council also adopts the final decision to conclude the agreement, once the Parliament has given its consent (required in areas subject to co-decision) and it has been ratified by all EU member states.

The Council can also adopt a decision to suspend the application of an international agreement or to terminate an agreement. It takes a decision on the basis of a proposal from the Commission or from the High Representative.

Support to the organisation of the Eastern Partnership summits

The EaP establishes stronger channels of communication through the organisation of summits at the level of heads of state or government.

The summits are organised every two years and they provide political guidance for further development of the Eastern Partnership.

The President of the European Council represents the EU externally at these summits, usually alongside the President of the European Commission.

The EaP also holds annual meetings of ministers of foreign affairs from the EU and from the Eastern partners. These meetings are attached to a General Affairs or a Foreign Affairs Council.