Civil society urges EU to recognise Georgia’s European perspective at Riga Summit
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More than 400 civil society organisations from Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, including Georgia, are calling on the European Union (EU) to stay true to its values regarding EaP policies and communicate the benefits of EU integration more effectively.
Ahead of next week’s EaP Summit in Riga, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) sent a statement to the EU with several requests. The EU’s membership perspective, visa free regime and empowering civil society in EaP countries were among the key messages for the European Neighbourhood Policy Review.
The statement read that visa free travel to the Schengen area that citizens of Moldova have been enjoying since April 2014 was one of the most tangible EaP achievements and should be extended to Georgia and Ukraine - the countries who signed Association Agreements with the EU last year.
"Any further retreat on the Association Agreements’ implementation by the EU under pressure from Russia will damage the EU’s credibility in the eyes of people in Eastern Partnership countries. The prospect of EU membership for countries that signed the Agreements should be included in the joint declaration of the Riga Summit,” the EaP CSF said.
The civil society organisations’ statement said the latest events in Ukraine, and previously, Russia’s aggression towards Georgia in August 2008 proved that as long as these countries declared European perspectives, they would be hostages of the situation, built by the territorial problems and frozen conflicts resulted from the external aggression.
"We believe the current situation stimulates the Russian aggression further. The Russian Federation takes advantage of the mentioned status quo and by launching an aggressive informational campaign attempts to strengthen the belief among the populations of the Eastern Partnership countries that they have no real chances of joining the EU, which makes the integration with Russia the only realistic option left,” the statement read.
"We urge the European Union and its Member States to explicitly recognise the European perspective for Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine at the Riga Eastern Partnership Summit!”
The EaP CSF is a unique multi-layered regional civil society platform aimed at promoting European integration, facilitating reforms and democratic transformations in the six EaP countries - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
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Georgia’s implementation of the Association Agreement (AA) and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) was the main topic discussed at today’s meeting between the country’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.
Georgia’s three top officials have voiced their expectations of what they hope the country will achieve at the upcoming Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit.
The European Union (EU) will grant a new financial package to Georgia if the EU assessment mission prepares a positive report on the country’s progress in May.
Georgia has participated in the first Eastern Partnership (EaP) ministerial trade meeting, where European Union (EU) Trade Ministers met their counterparts from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine and explored ways to develop each nation’s trade industry.
The country’s Minister of Agriculture, Otar Danelia, and his colleagues from Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries have signed a joint declaration in support of agriculture and rural development advisory systems.
The upcoming Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit in Riga aims to support Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, says the Foreign Minister of Latvia, the country currently holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).
Georgia’s Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili has called on European Union (EU) leaders to distinctly express their readiness for the Eastern Partnership (EaP) states’ European future at next week's EaP Summit in Riga, Latvia.
The Georgian delegation attending this week’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit in Riga, Latvia will be led by Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
European Council President Donald Tusk thinks it is possible for Georgians to travel without visas to European Union (EU) countries in 2016.
About a hundred members of European Parliament (MEPs) are addressing heads of government of EU member states to support the European perspective of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine at this week’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit in Riga, Latvia.
In several hours’ time Georgia will have a clear message of what is ahead for the country’s European perspective once the 4th Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit opens in Riga today.
Join the global conversation about the Eastern Partnership 4th Summit in Riga on Twitter with Agenda.ge’s live Twitter feed.
Below you can see the live Twitter feed with hashtags #RigaSummit, #EaP and #Georgia.
Ahead of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit taking place in Riga today and tomorrow, members of the European People's Party (EPP) Group have addressed EU leaders to offer a concrete date for visa facilitation agreements with Ukraine and Georgia.
Latvia supports Georgia’s European integration. This was the message Latvian President Andris Berzins told Georgian Prime Minister Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili today in Riga.
A political decision has been made on the visa free regime between Georgia and the European Union (EU), and only technical procedures need to be finished, said Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili at the Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit in Riga today.