Association Trio Leaders Issue Statement Following Eastern Partnership Summit

The leaders of the Association Trio – Ukraine, Georgia, and the Republic of Moldova – issued a joint statement following a meeting in Brussels.

“We welcomed the Joint Declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit ‘Recovery, Resilience and Reform,’ and by endorsing long-term policy objectives and the next generation of post-2020 priorities reaffirm our strong commitment to strategic, ambitious and forward-looking Eastern Partnership based on common fundamental values, mutual interests and shared ownership and responsibility,” reads the statement.

The authors of the document underscore that “dramatic changes of the situation in the Eastern Partnership and Black Sea region since the 5th Eastern Partnership Summit in 2017, including security, energy, health, and other emerging challenges, should be collectively addressed by the Partner countries in close cooperation with the EU.”

It is emphasised that continuous destabilisation and violations of the principles of international law in many parts of the EaP region pose a serious threat to peace, security, and stability in Europe.

“We welcomed the EU’s active efforts in conflict resolution and confidence-building processes and called for its strengthened role in the facilitation of peace and stability in the EaP region using all available instruments including relevant restrictive measures when necessary. We called on the EU leaders to address these issues at the meeting of the European Council on 16 December 2021,” the document reads.

The leaders of the three countries also note that Russia’s annexation attempts and illegal occupation of the territories of Georgia, its aggression in the east of Ukraine and temporary occupation of Crimea, as well as the unresolved conflict in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, pose a serious threat to the region and Europe as a whole.

In this regard, they strongly condemn the clear violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of a number of  EaP states, including incitement and support for conflicts, using disinformation and cyberattacks, increasing militarisation of the region, violations of human rights, or holding elections in the temporarily occupied territories.

Moreover, the leaders underscore the importance of further enhancing resilience and cooperation in the area of common security and defence policy and common foreign and security policy with the EU.

Natalia Tolub