Central European states support Georgia’s EU prospects

Foreign Ministers of Visegrad Group (V4) reaffirmed their strong support to the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine with a joint statement.  

They called on the European Union (EU) institutions to make relevant steps "to keep EaP high on the EU’s agenda”. 

Representing four central European states - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia V4 ministers said they consider the EaP "a strategic dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy and a key and active factor of stability and economic progress in Eastern Europe”.

Welcoming the granting of visa-free travel to the citizens of Georgia the ministers "reconfirmed that implementation of Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area is the key task for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine with their relations with the EU and offered their support to the reform effort”.

Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze who addressed the first diplomats of the V4 countries in Warsaw, Poland yesterday, said Georgia remains committed to becoming the EU member state through its reforms.

Great discussions today at #EUEaPWarsaw leading 2 great joint statement on support of V4 group 2 EU perspective of interested #EaP members https://t.co/rzYUPCg04I

— Mikheil Janelidze (@JanelidzeMkh) 12 April 2017

Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said EaP is the only EU policy instrument towards the Eastern neighbours "and we want to strengthen it".

We need to give the Partnership an ambitious political vision that will include concrete goals that are achievable in the near and foreseeable future. We must recognise the European aspirations and the European choice of our Eastern partners,” Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said.

Ministers agreed that cooperation with the EaP will focus on:

• strengthening institutions and good governance;
• economic development and market opportunities;
• connectivity, energy efficiency, environment and climate change;
• mobility and people-to-people contacts.

The traditional meeting of V4 and EaP ministers, which precedes the 5th EaP Summit scheduled to be held in Brussels on November 24, is organised by Poland under its presidency of the Visegrad Group.

Foreign Ministers of Visegrad Group (V4) reaffirmed their strong support to the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine with a joint statement. Photo by Michal Jasiulewicz/MSZ

In addition to the heads of diplomacy of the V4 and the six EaP countries, the foreign ministers of Croatia, Estonia, Romania and Sweden were also invited by Polish Foreign Minister Waszczykowski. EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and accession negotiations, Johannes Hahn also attended the meeting.

During his visit to Warsaw, Georgian Foreign Minister Janelidze held bilateral meetings with his Central European counterparts. He met with the Foreign Minister of Sweden Margot Wallstrom, Foreign Minister of Czech Republic Lubomír Zaoralek, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin, Foreign Minister of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak and Foreign Minister of Romania Teodor Melescanu.