EU mulls new cooperation format with EaP states: official

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union can offer a new cooperation format to the states which aren’t willing to be closely integrated into the bloc, an EU official said.

As Tert.am reports citing Russian media, speaking in Brussels, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn said he admits that the issue is very delicate and varies from country to country, with some seeking close cooperation and others interested in other formats of partnership. He called for developing new platforms to boost relations.

Eastern Partnership is an EU project aimed to promote cooperation among six ex-Soviet countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). At its upcoming summit in Riga, Latvia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are set to conduct talks over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“3 members of the European Unions’ Eastern Partnership (Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus) must take the opportunity extended by the initiative to develop a mutually beneficial cooperation, Latvian Foreign Minister,” the EU Council chairman Edgars Rinkevics said last week.

“We also seek to assist the countries not yet affiliated with the WTO in joining the organization. WTO membership will open up a range of new opportunities for the countries in question.”

“With Azerbaijan, EU can renew a dialogue on new terms of cooperation in the sectors of economy and free trade. With Belarus, a more structured and regular dialogue could be started. With Armenia, the EU is ready to consider a new agreement,” Rinkevics said.

Specific interests of these countries should be taken into account here, to be included into the statement of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, he concluded.