Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: “EU Eastern Partnership Summit Hangs On Wording”

All eyes are on Riga today as leaders of the European Union agree on a declaration that outlines the EU’s future relationship with Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries.

In Georgia, officials and society are eagerly awaiting the declaration’s release, which will outline how Georgia progresses with its visa liberalisation ambitions.

An article by Rikard Jozwiak for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty explained "wording” of the declaration was at the central issue of this year’s event.

Jozwiak wrote: "Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine appear to have scored a victory by getting member states to accept the wording in the final declaration that participants "acknowledge the European aspirations and European choice of the partners concerned”.”

While the wording is similar to that agreed upon at the previous Eastern Partnership summit, in Vilnius in 2013, it had appeared earlier that some EU member states -- such as Germany and France -- might not be willing to go that far at this meeting,” wrote Jozwiak.

The final wording of the declaration also came into focus on the evening of May 21, when Armenia and Belarus reportedly tried to block wording in the declaration referring to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 as "illegal." Armenia and Belarus are members of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

Jozwiak explained the EU "apparently remained firm on the wording, however, and the sentence is expected to be included in the final declaration”.

Now we must wait until the declaration is released later this afternoon.

Read the full article here: www.rferl.org