At the end of their meeting on Monday 19 June, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced that the EU foreign affairs ministers and their Eastern Partnership counterparts (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) have reaffirmed their "strong commitment" to "close cooperation".
Speaking to press, Mogherini said she had seen "a certain degree of unity" and "strong dedication". "With each of them we have a differentiated approach, but with all of them – bilaterally and all together – things are moving in a very good way", she said.
Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn said that during the meeting there was "very strong support for the concept of the 20 deliverables" for 2020. The deliverables are structured in four key areas: governance, economic development, mobility and connectivity. He added that there were "different views on some aspects", but "in principle, there was a strong support from both sides for this kind of approach". He did not give further details, however.
A press release from the Council states that the ministers confirmed that the Eastern Partnership summit (to be held in Brussels on 24 November) "should provide further guidance for strengthening cooperation in the four priority areas of engagement". The ministers also discussed a more efficient and effective multilateral structure for the Eastern Partnership in order to better align it with the four policy priorities, with the aim of adopting it at the next summit in November. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)