On Wednesday 15 December, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed the EU’s solidarity with the Eastern Partnership countries.
“This summit has given a new impetus with an ambitious declaration that shows the European commitment to ensure that our ambitions for prosperity and security are translated into action”, Michel said after the meeting. “We are not just neighbours... we are true partners. We are taking our partnership forward in spite of difficulties, whether economic crises or armed conflicts... until Covid-19”, he explained at the meeting.
Mrs von der Leyen recalled the cooperation with partner countries, particularly in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The EU has shared 13 million doses and earlier this week signed an agreement with the Polish development bank to step up delivery of vaccines to the region (see EUROPE 12852/28).
The two presidents also focused on security in the region, where five of the six Eastern Partnership countries are affected by territorial disputes. “We want to be committed to the prosperity of this region and all these countries as well as to security and stability. One goes hand in hand with the other: there is prosperity when there is security, and prosperity leads to an increased capacity to provide stability and security”, said Mr Michel.
He said the meeting was an opportunity to reaffirm support for Ukraine, its territorial integrity and sovereignty. The President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission have warned that in case of further Russian aggression towards Ukraine, the EU will respond firmly (see other news).
The summit also adopted a new agenda of cooperation priorities for the post-2020 period, focussing on recovery, resilience and reform and based on two pillars: governance and investment (see EUROPE 12841/17). This new agenda is supported by a new investment package of €2.3 billion, which could leverage €17 billion of public and private investment.
Mr Michel recalled that the EU’s engagement with the Eastern Partnership countries is based on the values of rule of law, governance, fundamental rights and democratic principles, and is directly linked to the efforts of reform and ambitious implementation of the commitments made by the partner countries.
Still no references to EU membership
However, he made no reference to possible EU membership, nor did the joint declaration adopted at the summit (see EUROPE 12850/23).
The declaration merely reaffirms “the sovereign right of each partner to choose the level of ambition and the goals to which it aspires in its relations with the EU”. “We acknowledge the European aspirations and the European choice of the partners concerned, as stated in the Association Agreements. The agreements provide for accelerating political association and economic integration with the European Union”, the leaders added in the statement.
In a joint statement issued at the end of the summit, the leaders of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova underlined that, “in accordance with Article 49 of the EU Treaty, any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and is committed to promoting them may apply for EU membership”.
Moreover, while Belarus was absent from the summit, symbolically an empty seat representing the country and its people was placed around the table. Ms von der Leyen hoped that the chair would soon be occupied by a “legitimate and democratically elected” Belarusian leader.
See the statement: https://bit.ly/3dXUZo0 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)