Latvian FM: Riga Summit will support Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine
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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).
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics talked about the Summit’s goals after yesterday’s meeting of the Visegrad Four (V4) and EaP foreign ministers in Bratislava, Slovakia.
V4 is an alliance by four central European states - the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, while the EaP countries are Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine.
The meeting dedicated to the EaP Summit preparation was also attended by Latvian, Romanian and Swedish Foreign Ministers as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.
"We all share the opinion that the Summit should reconfirm the EaP’s mission to deepen the EU’s relations with its Eastern partners,” the Latvian Foreign Minister said.
"In particular, this Summit aims to support reforms in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the states who signed the Association Agreement with the EU,” Rinkevics added.
He also said the EaP was not "directed against anyone”, but it was the means of relations between the EU and its partners in a number of fields.
Meanwhile Mogherini said the Riga Summit had "negative” and "positive” backgrounds. She named "worsening security issues in the region” as a negative factor, but said "intensifying relations” with each EaP state was the "positive side”.
"This Summit is a good opportunity to plan our future partnership to benefit ordinary citizens in these countries,” she said.
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 close partnership with the European Union (EU) was highlighted at a meeting between Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili and EU Council president Donald Tusk in Belgium today.
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.
Will Georgia be granted a visa free regime with the European Union (EU) at the Riga Summit in May? The outcome is still unclear, as the EU noted it was waiting for an evaluation by European experts before it will make a final decision.
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.
Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze is in Warsaw, Poland today to attend the meeting of the first diplomats from several countries, including the Eastern Partnership (EaP) and the Visegrad Group (V4).
During a meeting with Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili discussed the economic cooperation between the two countries, emphasising the importance of further deepening this cooperation, especially in the post-pandemic period.