Northern EU countries are displeased with the flow of the money to the East

PanARMENIAN.Net - European Union countries have declared an unwillingness to pledge financial support for the 'Eastern Partnership' cooperation project that Poland and Sweden have proposed, thenews.pl reports.



The project is meant to strengthen cooperation with the EU's eastern neighbours - especially focused on former Soviet bloc countries such as the Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and, potentially, Belarus. The Partnership was meant to be a step towards EU membership.



While all EU members voted last year upon supporting the Eastern Partnership, a debate has heated up in parliament over details. Yesterday's meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels brought up the question of money.



The European Commission has proposed that between 2010-2013, the Partnership project will receive 600 million euro. However, the looming economic recession has raised questions about where the funds will come from. The French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, has proposed a budget cut to only 250 million over the same time span - coming out at 15 million euro per year per country involved. "I am convinced that there will be additional money and, in the end, there will be an agreement for about 350 million euro," stated Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs.



Northern EU countries have raised the question that too much money is flowing east from the Union and too little is flowing to southern neighbours. The German Forieng Minister claims that his country does not want to increase the project's budget. Yet, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, after his meeting with the German Frank-Walter Steinmeier, stated that Germany will financially support the project.



The final decision on the budget for the project will be made at the EU Summit on 19-20 March.