The Eastern Partnership – Reloaded
The strategy for Europe’s East or the so-called Eastern Partnership of the EU with the post-Soviet republics Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine has been ‘reloaded’ at the focus of European attention thanks to the Polish Presidency. Although lately it has been overshadowed by the financial crisis of Europe and the revolutions in the Arab world, the Eastern policy should not be regarded of secondary importance. For the six post-Soviet countries the policy is an opportunity to enter Europe’s common market, to liberalise their visa regimes with the EU and according to their good will to establish a real functioning democracy.
For Europe it means above all energy security, trade and integration of the East to the values of the West. The latter, according to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, should not be interpreted as a "zone of influence", as the Russians commented angrily at the beginning of the Partnership in 2008. The rhetoric of the Cold War sounds rather outdated but what truly characterises the policy of the 21st century are real facts, figures and pragmatism.
Europe has provided 600 million euros for the years 2010-2013 as part of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. 175 million euros will go for institutional reforms; about 75 million to address regional economic and social inequalities; for convergence with EU policies, stability, economic integration, energy security and democratic governance the EU has allocated 350 million euros.
The European Investment Bank finances separately the Eastern partners, including Russia (up to 500 million euros) with a total of 3.7 billion euros for 2007-2013 supporting transport, energy, telecommunications and environmental infrastructure projects. An assessment of the financing of the six former Soviet countries from an economic and political perspective and an evaluation of EU’s role as a Western alternative to the Eastern partners is yet to come. The second summit between EU leaders and the six post-Soviet countries is scheduled for September 29-30. euinside will follow closely the meeting and present different views and perspectives on the Eastern Partnership, taking into account that the Eastern region is of significant importance not only for the EU as a whole but also for Bulgaria in particular.
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