Don't forget about the EU's eastern neighbours

At the Prague Summit in 2009 the EU decided to establish the Eastern Partnership in order to further develop multilateral ties with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. September 29-30 2011 the next summit between the EU and the EU Partners will take place in Warsaw. In preparation for the summit, the EU's policy towards the Eastern Partners has undergone a review process aimed at improving the effectiveness and visibility of the cooperation. At the same time a new phase of the bilateral assistance, the Danish Neighbourhood Programme, was being planned.

In March 2011 DIIS and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark hosted a conference in order to shed light on the possibilities, challenges and needs that would shape the next policy frameworks.

This DIIS report is based on the written contributions of the speakers from the conference. The papers touch upon issues such as the political development, economic growth and coordination of assistance.

It remains clear that the challenges are many for donors as well as the partner countries themselves. The level of application of conditionality, the degree of differentiation between the partner countries and the inclusion of civil society along with numerous other issues are still subject to discussion and evaluation.

The recent political development in a large partner country such as Ukraine is a good example of why the EU needs to focus its attention on the East. The Eastern Partnership Summit should be used as an occasion to reinforce the EU's commitment and support to a democratic development in its Eastern Neighbourhood at a time where most attention is occupied by the euro-crisis and the popular uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East.