On Monday, the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on the development of the Eastern Partnership after 2020, reaffirming the strategic importance of the program and the joint commitment of its members to build a common space of democracy, prosperity and stability.
The relevant notice was published on Monday on the website of the Council of the European Union.
“Today's Council conclusions follow up on the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of 20 June 2019, which marked the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, and the joint communication: “Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Reinforcing Resilience – an Eastern Partnership that delivers for all” of 18 March 2020” the document says.
In its conclusions, the Council of the European Union welcomed the significant achievements of the Eastern Partnership, and reaffirmed the incentive-based approach as a means of encouraging Eastern Partners to continue reforms and step up their efforts in this direction. The Council of the European Union reaffirmed that the current framework conditions for this policy, including the “20 achievements by 2020” package, remain in place and continue to deliver significant results for the benefit of the people.
The Council of the European Union also underlined the importance of the future of Eastern Partnership providing a more strategic, ambitious, flexible and inclusive framework for cooperation, enabling participants to address common and global challenges through joint efforts in a number of areas, especially in the current unprecedented situation with caused by pandemic of COVID-19.
The Council of the European Union emphasized the strong adherence to the fundamental values of the Eastern Partnership, including democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, a good governance system, a successful anti-corruption policy, and economic reforms, environmental, climate change and energy challenges. digital transformation and investment in human development.
Finally, the Council of the European Union considered preparations for the next Eastern Partnership Summit, which is expected to review the results achieved since the last summit in 2017, present long-term policy goals for the future, identify ways forward in further strengthening and deepening cooperation, and provide a mandate to work to prepare the goals of the new generation to be achieved after 2020.
