On December 15, the sixth Eastern Partnership summit was held in Brussels, during which President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, met with the leaders of the EU Member States and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine received invitations to the event. The cooperation with Belarus within the Eastern Partnership format is temporarily suspended due to the EU sanctions.
The purpose of th summit is to confirm the importance of the Eastern Partnership and provide a strategic outlook for closer cooperation between the EU and its Eastern partners.
“The Summit also represents an important occasion to signal solidarity between the EU and the region, including the health and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the European Commission said.
Leaders were expected to discuss a renewed agenda for the Eastern Partnership, focused on recovery, resilience and reform, which will help increase partner countries' resilience and their ability to withstand current and future challenges. It will be underpinned by a €2.3 billion Economic and Investment plan in grants, blending, and guarantees, with a potential to mobilize up to €17 billion in public and private investments, to stimulate jobs, growth, and bring prosperity to the region.
At the end of the summit, the leaders adopted a joint declaration.
The leaders stressed that their partnership remains firmly based on common fundamental values, mutual interests and shared ownership, responsibility, inclusivity, differentiation, and mutual accountability.
The Eastern Partnership seeks to foster stability, prosperity and mutual cooperation, and to advance the commitment to the necessary reforms, and to address the global and regional challenges.
The EU remains firm in its support for the independence and sovereignty of all eastern partners, and their territorial integrity within their internationally recognized borders.
“We remain deeply concerned about the continuous destabilization and violations of the principles of international law in many parts of the Eastern Partnership region that pose a threat to peace, security and stability. We call for renewed efforts to promote the peaceful settlement of unresolved conflicts in the Eastern Partnership region based on the principles and norms of international law,” the text of the Eastern Partnership summit joint declaration reads.
The leaders welcomed the agreements the eastern partners and the EU have concluded or are presently negotiating:
·the full entry into force of the Association Agreements (AAs) and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine
·the entry into force of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the EU and Armenia in March 2021
·the progress in the negotiations between the EU and Azerbaijan on a new comprehensive agreement
The EU acknowledged the initiative of the trio of associated partners (Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) to enhance their cooperation with the EU.
Volodymyr Zelensky represented Ukraine in the summit. According to him, Ukraine has gained full support of all countries present at the sixth Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels.
The President of Ukraine noted that during the talks with all partners he emphasized the threat of escalation on the part of the Russian Federation and the need for an appropriate response if such an escalation occurs.
"Five ways of reacting to possible escalation are being considered. We said that our state does not have five reactions - we will have only one reaction, and we demonstrated it in 2014 when we defended our territory with weapons in hands. But we emphasize once again that we stand for a peaceful settlement of the war in the east of our country," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.