Carl Bildt: Eastern Partnership countries on top of EU agendaSeptember 12, 2011 - 14:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Eastern Partnership aims to strengthen and deepen contacts and cooperation with the six Eastern European countries, according to Sweden’s Foreign Minister. “The EaP – with EU integration at the core - is a clear expression of solidarity and long-term engagement from the EU’s side. Moreover, the EaP has helped mobilize attention to the Eastern neighborhood amongst EU’s 27 member states. With the EaP, the EU as a whole has renewed its focus on Eastern Europe and has rallied around an ambitious agenda for the countries in question. The EaP has firmly placed the Eastern partners at the top of the EU agenda,” APA quoted Carl Bildt as saying. The minister also stressed that with the EaP, the countries in question are offered greater political and economic integration with the EU. “In return, the countries must adhere to the values that underpin the European cooperation and progress on internal reforms. The up-coming second Eastern Partnership Summit on November 29-30 in Warsaw will be a good opportunity to take stock of progress made so far, and to set new policy goals for the future,” he said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |