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The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko; of Belarus, Sergei Martynov; and of Lithuania, Vygaudas Ušackas, met in Kyiv on 22 November. The main subject of their discussions concerned multilateral co-operation in the fields of transport and energy, as well as visa facilitations. It was agreed that representatives of the three countries would submit proposals for joint projects within the Eastern Partnership framework to the European Commission during the EP summit on 8 December 2009. more »
The official inauguration of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) on 7 May at the Prague summit has been received positively in Germany. The presence of Chancellor Angela Merkel at the summit indicates the presence of strong support in Germany for the Eastern Partnership as an instrument intended to bring the Union's Eastern neighbours closer to EU standards. It will be beneficial for Germany if the level of the EU's relations with its eastern neighbours becomes similar to those of its southern (which are represented as part of the recently established Union for the Mediterranean). However, Germany insists that the EaP initiative should not be treated as a promise of accession to the EU and can not antagonise Russia. more »
On 21 March, the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said in his address to the annual Brussels Forum conference that Russia views the European Partnership initiative as a European Union tool for building a sphere of influence. He also criticised Brussels for putting pressure on Belarus. This was the first instance of such a high-ranking Russian official openly criticising the Eastern Partnership. The statement, repeated by numerous Western media , was an attempt to informally influence the EU and persuade it to limit the scope and ambitions of the new initiative. more »
While giving its final approval to the Eastern Partnership the European Council summit in Brussels on 20 March decided to include Belarus in the initiative. This decision seems to be a EU gesture intended to encourage the Belarusian authorities to continue implementing changes in line with the European Union's expectations concerning Belarus. At the same time, however, EU-Belarus relations remain limited. more »
