Georgian, Ukrainian, Moldovan PMs pledge to deepen ties while meeting top EU officials
This is the first joint visit of the Associated Trio composed of Georgian, Ukrainian and Moldovan top officials aimed to strengthen cooperation towards common European goals and EU membership. Photo: Charles Michel/Twitter
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmuhal and Moldovan PM Natalia Gavrilita have pledged to deepen ties with top officials of the European Union while paying a visit to Brussels ahead of the December 15 Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit.
Holding their first joint visit as the Associated Trio, the Georgian, Ukrainian and Moldovan PMs have reiterated their countries’ European aspirations and commitment to European values.
Discussing the prospects for sectoral integration with the EU, the three PMs hoped that the priorities of the Associated Trio will be benchmarked in the EaP summit declaration, further opening the doors to diverse European markets.
Georgian PM Garibashvili has tweeted:
Fruitful meeting w/@vonderleyen on enhancing the engagement of the @EU_Commission to advance the political, econ & sectoral integration of the #AssociatedTrio with the ????????. Confident that our partnership contributes to building the solid groundwork for our ???????? integration. pic.twitter.com/k7wqYVzVS3
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) November 30, 2021
President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen has expressed her hope that the upcoming summit will give ‘fresh impetus’ to EaP.
Glad to meet the Prime Ministers of Georgia ???????? Moldova ???????? and Ukraine ????????
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 30, 2021
Let's bring our Association Agreements to full potential and strengthen our cooperation across the board.
Looking forward to our summit to give fresh impetus to our Easter Partnership. pic.twitter.com/CPeOs7dQUD
Ukrainian PM Denys Shmuhal also expects the EaP summit would provide ‘the strategic impetus necessary for associated states’.
In Brussels, the three PMs have met with European Council President Charles Michel to discuss how to further advance reform efforts ahead of the upcoming EaP summit.
The EU is the Eastern Partnership’s most reliable partner. Reforms, human rights and rule of law are the cornerstone of our cooperation”, he tweeted.
Expressing gratitude for the EU’s firm support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of the three countries, PM Garibashvili said ‘adherence to shared European values remains at the core of our EU integration’.
Great talks w/ @EUCouncil President @CharlesMichel in the frames of #AssociatedTrio format. Adherence to shared European values remains at the core of our ????????integration. Grateful for EU firm support for sovereignty & territorial integrity of our states. pic.twitter.com/FRbhJb12Uh
— Irakli Garibashvili (@GharibashviliGe) November 30, 2021
In Brussels, the three PMs met with President of European Parliament David Sassoli as well, discussing the perspectives of deepening their ‘value-based partnership’.
Excellent meeting today with the Prime Ministers of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Your countries are an essential part of Europe, of our shared history and shared future.
— David Sassoli (@EP_President) November 30, 2021
The @Europarl_EN fully supports the #AssociatedTrio initiative and your closer partnership with the EU. pic.twitter.com/LnmC9jHiEk
The EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative was created in 2009 and unites six Eastern European countries – Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine – in support of democracy, prosperity and stability in the region.
This is the first joint visit of the Associated Trio composed of Georgian, Ukrainian and Moldovan top officials aimed to strengthen cooperation towards common European goals and EU membership.
Georgia, which has plans to apply for EU membership by 2024 is a frontrunner of the EaP initiative which has already used all the opportunities offered by the format and is expecting deeper cooperation with the EU.