The Eastern Partnership constitutes a new development of the European Neighborhood Policy towards Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. It aims to create the necessary conditions to accelerate political association and further economic integration between the EU and partner countries. The present report summarizes progress made since the first Ministerial meeting of the EaP on 8 December 2009.The deliberations of the Eastern Partnership ministerial will feed into the ongoing Strategic Review of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The resulting proposals concerning the further implementation of the Eastern Partnership, its medium-term objectives and its instruments will lay the basis for the second Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in Budapest in May, 2011.
The Strategic Review already reveals a nearly unanimous call for more focus, clearer sequencing, more measurable benchmarks, and for a better link between the partner’s
domestic reforms and the EU support provided for these reforms. A stronger political steering will be necessary. Matrices that have been prepared for each Partner Country
(with the exception of Belarus) should help this process.
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