Press release, 3 June 2019
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership, the Seimas hosted the Eastern Partnership Conference titled Can We Deliver? Setting our Course over the Next Ten Years organised by the Baltic Assembly. The event brought together parliamentarians, ministers and experts from the three Baltic States as well as Georgia, Ukraine, Germany, Moldova, Armenia, France and other countries.
Welcomes to the participants of the Conference were extended by Prof. Jānis Vucāns, President of the Baltic Assembly in 2019; Prof. Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas; Ināra Murniece, Speaker of the Latvian Saeima; Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the Georgian Parliament; and Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the Estonian Riigikogu.
Mr Pranckietis stressed that the Eastern Partnership was an example of how the EU Member States had been building special relations with neighbours, working together and pursuing a common future. “This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership. We have achieved a great deal over this period. In particular, I would like to point out to the three EU Association Agreements with Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, the Partnership Agreement with Armenia, visa-free regimes with three associated partners, and facilitated visa regimes with Armenia and Azerbaijan. I believe that the trio of EU Association Countries – Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine – must be able to move forward further and faster. We must definitely ensure appropriate financial support in the forthcoming financial perspective and even more active and deeper involvement of EU Member States in the implementation of reforms in the aforementioned countries,” said Mr Pranckietis.
The Speaker of the Seimas welcomed the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly established by the associated Eastern partners and underlined the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation. He also noted that the decision on the next Eastern Partnership Summit was pending. “I have been addressing this issue at each international forum. We hope that the Summit will be held during the German Presidency of the Council of the EU and that the final decision on the organisation will be soon adopted,” said Mr Pranckietis.
Ms Mūrniece underscored that, while advancing the objectives of the Eastern Partnership, the member states of the Baltic Assembly should pro-actively seek to ensure that the Eastern Partnership remained a strategic goal on the EU agenda.
The following speaker, Andrius Kubilius, Deputy Chair of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs, stressed the importance of EU Member States’ support for the Eastern Partnership countries and the need to maintain their motivation to pursue complex reforms needed for integration. Therefore, he placed a high premium on giving the Eastern Partnership countries a clear perspective and setting specific objectives to be achieved by them. Mr Kubilius also stated that the new European Partnership Initiative could help the trio of EU Association Countries seek the European integration, while the friends of the trio, who would be holding the EU presidencies (Germany 2020, France 2022, Sweden 2023, Poland 2025, Lithuania 2027, Latvia 2028), could set up the Coalition of the Friends of the Trio and start working together to build up a more precise calendar.
Established in Tallinn on 8 November 1991, the Baltic Assembly is an international organisation for cooperation among the parliaments of the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Estonia, and the Republic of Latvia. The term of presidency of the Baltic Assembly is one calendar year and the presidency is held alternately by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In 2019, Latvia will hold the presidency of the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers.
The first Eastern Partnership Summit took place in Prague ten years ago. Back then, it brought together the heads of state and government of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and EU Member States as well as the EU leadership with a view to strengthening mutual friendship and cooperation and establishing an ambitious strategic partnership to be developed for complimenting bilateral cooperation. The achievement of these goals and building of a more stable and democratic region require efforts resting on shared values, mutual interests and commitments with the ultimate aim of bringing Eastern European partner countries closer to the European Union and strengthening relations among the partner countries themselves.