Estonian FM: EU should focus on Eastern Partnership countriesJuly 25, 2012 - 19:24 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that the European Union should be working with its Eastern Partnership countries, even at a time when developments in the EU’s southern neighbourhood are demanding a lot of attention. “Eastern Partnership is in our interest and requires the continued attention and support of the European Union,” the Estonian Foreign Minister said at the meeting of the Eastern Partnership foreign ministers in Brussels. “In Eastern Partnership countries we see progress in making reforms and integrating with the European Union, which deserves to be recognized, as well as troubling political developments. All this shows that there is still much to be done,” he stated. The Eastern Partnership countries are Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus. “We are very pleased with the developments in Moldova and if they continue, at the next Eastern Partnership summit we’ll have a reason to move to the next level, the European Union perspective,” said Paet. “It is essential that the countries making more progress are given more opportunities, so that the ‘more for more’ policy is implemented,” he explained. “Therefore we hope for progress in the Moldova visa dialogue,” noted the foreign minister. “Greater visibility and the interest of the public are encouraging, so the European Union could think about how to make Eastern Partnership more visible through public diplomacy,” he stated. Paet said that in future efforts, greater attention should be paid to co-ordinating work between European Union member states and Eastern Partnership states and creating synergy. “The Eastern Partners are priority countries for Estonia’s development co-operation and one way in which we support them is through the Centre of Eastern Partnership, which focuses on increasing the administrative capacity of our Eastern Partners,” Paet explained. “It is also very important to move in the direction of visa facilitation and visa freedom with Eastern Partners, as well as making co-operation in politics and various sectors more effective,” the official website of Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quoted Minister Paet as saying. Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency. Partner news | Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Russia confirms start of withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh The Kremlin has confirmed reports about the start of the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh. France recalls its ambassador to Azerbaijan France on April 16 said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan. Protesters rally as Georgia debates 'foreign agent' bill Georgian critics label the bill "the Russian law", comparing it to legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent. |