The Romanian Center for European Policies (CRPE – Romania) and Institut für Europäische Politik (IEP – Germany) has launched the report Elements for an Eastern Partnership Plus: A new Association Package for Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia
prepared by Cristian Ghinea, CRPE director, and Katrin Bottger, deputy director of IEP. As an analysis of the actual state and the potential of the European Union to overcome the bystander status it has assumed in its relation with the Eastern Partnership, the report stands for the idea that the Eastern Partnership has reached its limits within its actual configuration and should strive for more engagement and support from the countries within, as well as from the European Union.
The 2006 Riga Summit is far from being considered a failure even though the negotiations did not promised an outcome to fulfill the various expectations of the six countries. However, Riga should be the last summit organized in the same format for all the countries. A more plausible arrangement would be the EU+3+1+1+1 with an extended package for the Eastern Partnership. The arrangement should focus on the full implementation of the Association Agreements followed by opening access to new pan-European programmes for these countries (according to Horizon 2020 model). Precisely, EaP Plus should be a framework to support reforms in these countries.
The publication is part of the project ”Regional Cooperation Romania-Moldova-Ukraine – key for stability in the post-Crimea Black Sea Region”, financed by the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation.