Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers meeting: EU confirms strong commitment to the region

Foreign Ministers from the EU and five of the six Eastern partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) came together on 15 November for the Eastern Partnership (EaP) ministerial meeting, under the chairmanship of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi also participated in the meeting.

“We had a very good debate with our Eastern Partners. Belarus was not invited, but we kept an empty seat as a symbolic place for the Belarusian people,” said Borrell.

Participants had an exchange of views on ways of advancing the partnership and ensuring it delivers for the people, focusing in particular on issues of governance and investment, as well as reinforcing the partnership for resilience, recovery and reform.

The ministerial meeting reaffirmed the strong commitment of the EU to the region, and the political will to cooperate in addressing common challenges. Ministers also touched on the practical implementation of the new and ambitious EU-EaP agenda.

The High Representative underlined that the EU will continue to support necessary reforms, but also provide tangible benefits for those who actively engage in them.

The ministerial discussion will feed into the preparations for the Eastern Partnership summit of December 2021, which is expected to provide a reinvigorated vision to the EU-EaP cooperation and endorse the post-2020 agenda.

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Press release