Euractiv: "Stronger support for Eastern partners finds way into amended EU military strategy proposal"

States of the European Union's Eastern Partnership will benefit from a stronger support from the Union thanks to a new strategy paper being developed to deepen relations with countries like Georgia, on the backdrop of political tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine, a new piece on Euractiv network reports.

Submitted by Alexandra Brzozowski, the article reviews the document - designed to lead the EU's military approach and partnerships - as the draft paper is being reviewed by foreign ministers of member states ahead of its formal approval, expected in March.

The 34-page paper outlines "joint efforts and investments" for facing security challenges posed by Russia to former Soviet republics along its borders that have become part of the Eastern Partnership since its initiation in 2009.

In the past few months, some EU member states have argued that for the EU to become an important geopolitical actor, it needs to play a security role not only in Africa but especially in its Eastern neighbourhood.

Except for Belarus, every country in the EU’s Eastern Partnership has a territorial conflict on its soil, engineered by Russia.

- Alexandra Brzozowski

The strategy document raises prospects of "specific dialogues" with Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, with the European bloc to aim to strengthen their security capability.

This will include areas like "hybrid threats, disinformation and cybersecurity", and set the goal of "building resilience [of the partner states] through assistance measures".

Read the full story here.