Video viEUws.eu: Eastern Partnership Summit: revitalisation crucial to shape future of EU-Russia relations, stresses ECR Group
Jennifer Baker is joined by James Holtum, spokesperson for the ECR Group, to discuss the importance of the EU strategy for a new Eastern Neighbourhood Policy.
This week the European Parliament will debate the issue ahead of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga on 21 & 22 May 2015. The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is one of the EU’s ‘soft-power tools’ aimed at “stabilizing and ensuring the security of six neighbouring countries” (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). The Eastern Partnership policy has made progress since the Vilnius Summit in 2013, Holtum acknowledges, with some neighbouring countries committing to free trade agreements. However, recent events have shown “that Moscow will not let former Soviet countries choose their own path” and it therefore remains crucial for the European Union to revitalise the Eastern Partnership agreement.
“Moscow will not let former Soviet countries choose their own path” ECR Group arguestweet