Sopot, 02/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Sopot, Poland, on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 September (see EUROPE 10442) will be devoted largely to the Eastern Partnership which brings six countries - Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia - into a closer relationship with the European Union. It provides for free-trade agreements with these countries, financial aid (€700 million for the period 2010-2013), aid for energy security and visa-free travel to the EU.
Poland, which will chair this “Gymnich” meeting, hopes to relaunch the partnership with the EU's “close neighbours” Polish Secretary of State for European Affairs Milolaj Dowgielewicz announced that he wanted to “create a network of friends in the EU's nearest neighbourhood, a network of trade partnerships with both southern and eastern neighbours”.
A few months ago, the WikiLeaks internet site revealed French attempts to use the Eastern Partnership to intimidate two countries, Sweden and Poland. France threatened to “torpedo” the EU's Eastern Partnership if some member states, principally the two above-mentioned, did not soften their stance towards Russia. France had entered into economic agreements with Russia, between Gazprom and Gaz de France. (V.W./transl.rt)