Eastern Partnership - new wrapping for old policy?

The Heinrich Böll Foundation invites you to participate in an open debate: Eastern Partnership - new wrapping for old policy?

On the 7th of May, the Eastern Partnership was launched in Prague - a Polish-Swedish initiative for the strengthening of the Eastern dimension of EU policy within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).
The Eastern Partnership (EaP) aims to improve relations with six former Soviet republics: Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and, under some conditions, Belarus, both in bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The main goals are to establish a wider free-trade area, alleviate visa requirements, introduce economic privileges and provide economic aid for the participating countries for such initiatives as the fight against corruption, scholarships for scientists and journalists and professional training for office workers. The European Commission has allocated ?600 million for the initiative up to 2013.

The level of enthusiasm for the project varies significantly both among the participating countries and EU Member States. Among the invited countries, the most reserved was the reaction of Ukraine, for which the EaP, excluding the prospect of EU membership, differs little from previous opportunities for the country's cooperation with the European Union within the ENP. In contrast, the authorities of Belarus, which had been formerly isolated, perceive the invitation to participate in the Partnership as a political offer that brings measurable economic benefits. Some of the Belarusian opposition, however, remain critical of the EaP and consider the invitation a form of legitimisation of the Lukashenko regime. As regards EU Members States, controversial issues include democratisation of Belarus, visa policy for citizens of the countries invited to the EaP and the status of the countries that belong to the programme, especially Ukraine, in their relations with the EU.

Whether or not the Eastern Partnership is a new wrapping for old policy, its significance to both the participating countries and the European community, and whether the project is purely symbolic - taking into consideration its meagre financial resources - will all
be discussed, from both the Eastern and the EU point of view, by:
a.. Andrzej Cieszkowski - Plenipotentiary of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Eastern Partnership
b.. Alaksandr Lahviniec -Movement "For Freedom"
c.. Iryna Solonenko - Director, European Programme, International Renaissance Foundation, Kiev
d.. Rainder Steenblock - Member of the German Bundestag, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Moderation: Maria Prze³omiec - Studio Wschód TVP Info

Discussion will be held in Polish and English with simultaneous interpreting.
Zielna Conference Centre, ul. Zielna 37, Warsaw
Contact: hbs(at)boell.pl

18. June 2009 in Veranstaltungen, Östliche Partnerschaft

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