Eastern Partnership Summit kicks off in Warsaw

PanARMENIAN.Net - At the invitation of the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries will meet in Warsaw on September 29 and 30.

President Van Rompuy will chair the meeting and together with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso will represent the EU. The European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton, Commissioner in charge of Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy, Štefan Füle, and the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, will also attend.

The EU member states will also be represented at the highest level.

The six partner countries will be represented by the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and Moldovan Prime Minister Vladimir Filat and the Ambassador of Belarus in Warsaw.

This Summit, hosted by Poland, will be an opportunity to renew the political commitment of all participating countries to the key objectives of the Partnership. It will review progress made in the implementation of the Eastern Partnership over the last two years based on shared values of democracy and human rights. The Summit will also decide on the next steps to ensure continued progress toward deeper political association and economic integration with the European Union based on Eastern European countries’ sustainable reform effort.

In this respect, progress towards Deep and Comprehensive Free trade Areas and in the area of mobility and enhanced sector cooperation, notably in the field of transport, energy and agriculture, will represent key deliverables.

The Summit should emphasize that the Eastern Partnership is based on common values and principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. At the same time it should acknowledge the European aspiration and the European choice of some Eastern European countries.

The EaP Summit would also underline the central role of civil society in pursuing the goals of the Eastern Partnership and show the possibilities of creating new instruments such as the European Endowment for Democracy and Civil Society Facility, the European Union said in a press release.