EU is ready to help EaP countries shape “different future”

The European Union has adopted a special support package worth €60 million for Georgia and Moldova to help them with the implementation of the Association Agreements (AA).

At the Visegrad Group (V4) meeting in Budapest today, the Czech Republic, Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian Foreign Ministers issued a statement claiming a perspective of European integration remained the best stimulus for deep reforms for the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries.

The V4 Ministers highlighted the importance of signing the AA/DCFTA with Georgia and Moldova in June 2014, as agreed by the European Council.

They rejected any military or economic threat against EaP Partner countries and in this context reiterated their full support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Regarding the visa liberalization process, the Ministers noted the opportunity of visa free travel for the citizens of Moldova and reiterated the commitment to achieve the same goal for Georgians and Ukrainians soon.

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule also participated in the V4 meeting.

He reconfirmed the EU’s commitment to the Eastern Partnership and said signature and the consequent implementation of the AA/DCFTAs with the EaP countries including Georgia would seal the irreversibility of political association and economic integration.

"Our Eastern European partners have had their rocky past, they deserve a different future. And we are ready to help them shaping it,” Fule said.

The Eastern Partnership is an initiative of the EU governing their relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. It is intended to provide a venue for discussions of trade, economic strategy, travel agreements, and other issues between the EU and its eastern neighbours.