03 October 2011
Only EU countries signed a 'Declaration on the situation in Belarus', deploring the persisting deterioration of media freedom in Belarus and calling for the immediate release and rehabilitation of all political prisoners.
According to a Polish EU Presidency representative, the organisers had tried to reach a common declaration of all participants, after Belarus announced it was withdrawing from the EU's 'Eastern Partnership' (EaP) initiative, aimed at developing closer relations with the countries of Europe's east.
A civil society conference held in the sidelines of the EaP summit, where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Council President Herman Van Rompuy held meetings with the Belarus opposition. Upon his return from Warsaw, Belarusian opposition leader Anatoly Lebedko was arrested by the police.
The declaration makes no mention of the worsening human rights situation in other EaP countries, such as Ukraine, where the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is undergoing what the EU calls a political trial.
However, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chaired the Summit, said that the EU had "expressed [its] concerns about the fate of the former prime minister", as well as its rejection of "the possible selective use of judicial measures against members of the former administration".
Election race tightens
According to the Polish Radio, the Polish opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) of former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński accused the government and the Foreign Ministry of failing to prepare the summit properly. In its view, the five countries' refusal to sign the declaration on Belarus is a "fiasco" for Polish diplomacy. Poland is holding parliamentary elections on 9 October.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party (PO) had a lead of just three points over the main opposition, the rightist Law and Justice (PiS) party, less than a week before a parliamentary election, Reuters reported today (3 October), quoting the latest opinion poll.
PO, which was earlier expected to win the 9 October vote easily, was backed by 32 percent of Poles, according to the survey by Millward Brown SMG/KRC for Gazeta.pl.
'More for more'
But the most substantial part of the declaration gathered the support of all participants. The European Union is sticking to the principle of 'more for more', willing to assist the EaP countries and help their integration, depending on their 'genuine progress' in reforms.
According to critics, the EaP lacks the force to deeply transform the societies in participating countries, because it remains ambiguous on the kind of relationship they would have with the Union in the longer term.
Even though the EU is grappling with the economic crisis, it remains committed to building a new strategy for its neighbourhood, the declaration says.
Van Rompuy emphasised that EaP countries remained "a priority for the European Union" and that goals were set for the coming years.
EaP countries are particularly interested in joining visa facilitation programs, similar of those which recently achieved visa free travel for the Western Balkans.
"We have specified our vision of a visa-free regime for all the interested participants in the Eastern Partnership," Tusk noted, making it clear that EaP states were promised visa-free travel to the EU, as soon as they were ready.
The EU is now implementing Visa Action Plans with Ukraine and Moldova, with the aim of visa liberalisation. Visa facilitation and readmission agreements are being implemented with Georgia and Brussels hopes to negotiate similar agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso revealed that the Partnership countries could expect increased funding: "The European Commission has proposed additional funds that will allow further development of the Eastern Partnership." Total financing of the Partnership has now reached almost €2 billion.
Free Trade on the horizon
The summit confirmed that Ukraine, a frontrunner in this field, could wrap up a 'Deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA)' by the end of the year, and that similar negotiations could be started with Moldova and Georgia. Furthermore, an Eastern Partnership Public Administration Academy is to be established in Warsaw, to assist with the building of democratic institutions in the partner countries.
Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, said the Commission had established a Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility a few days ago. For 2011, the budget of the Facility is €22 million. "We also aim to set up a European Endowment for Democracy," he added.
"We need to communicate our work to citizens. Improving the visibility of our activities within the Eastern Partnership is certainly a challenge for the future," Füle said.
According to a Polish EU Presidency representative, the organisers had tried to reach a common declaration of all participants, after Belarus announced it was withdrawing from the EU's 'Eastern Partnership' (EaP) initiative, aimed at developing closer relations with the countries of Europe's east.
A civil society conference held in the sidelines of the EaP summit, where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Council President Herman Van Rompuy held meetings with the Belarus opposition. Upon his return from Warsaw, Belarusian opposition leader Anatoly Lebedko was arrested by the police.
The declaration makes no mention of the worsening human rights situation in other EaP countries, such as Ukraine, where the former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is undergoing what the EU calls a political trial.
However, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chaired the Summit, said that the EU had "expressed [its] concerns about the fate of the former prime minister", as well as its rejection of "the possible selective use of judicial measures against members of the former administration".
Election race tightens
According to the Polish Radio, the Polish opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) of former Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński accused the government and the Foreign Ministry of failing to prepare the summit properly. In its view, the five countries' refusal to sign the declaration on Belarus is a "fiasco" for Polish diplomacy. Poland is holding parliamentary elections on 9 October.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform party (PO) had a lead of just three points over the main opposition, the rightist Law and Justice (PiS) party, less than a week before a parliamentary election, Reuters reported today (3 October), quoting the latest opinion poll.
PO, which was earlier expected to win the 9 October vote easily, was backed by 32 percent of Poles, according to the survey by Millward Brown SMG/KRC for Gazeta.pl.
'More for more'
But the most substantial part of the declaration gathered the support of all participants. The European Union is sticking to the principle of 'more for more', willing to assist the EaP countries and help their integration, depending on their 'genuine progress' in reforms.
According to critics, the EaP lacks the force to deeply transform the societies in participating countries, because it remains ambiguous on the kind of relationship they would have with the Union in the longer term.
Even though the EU is grappling with the economic crisis, it remains committed to building a new strategy for its neighbourhood, the declaration says.
Van Rompuy emphasised that EaP countries remained "a priority for the European Union" and that goals were set for the coming years.
EaP countries are particularly interested in joining visa facilitation programs, similar of those which recently achieved visa free travel for the Western Balkans.
"We have specified our vision of a visa-free regime for all the interested participants in the Eastern Partnership," Tusk noted, making it clear that EaP states were promised visa-free travel to the EU, as soon as they were ready.
The EU is now implementing Visa Action Plans with Ukraine and Moldova, with the aim of visa liberalisation. Visa facilitation and readmission agreements are being implemented with Georgia and Brussels hopes to negotiate similar agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso revealed that the Partnership countries could expect increased funding: "The European Commission has proposed additional funds that will allow further development of the Eastern Partnership." Total financing of the Partnership has now reached almost €2 billion.
Free Trade on the horizon
The summit confirmed that Ukraine, a frontrunner in this field, could wrap up a 'Deep and comprehensive free trade agreement (DCFTA)' by the end of the year, and that similar negotiations could be started with Moldova and Georgia. Furthermore, an Eastern Partnership Public Administration Academy is to be established in Warsaw, to assist with the building of democratic institutions in the partner countries.
Štefan Füle, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, said the Commission had established a Neighbourhood Civil Society Facility a few days ago. For 2011, the budget of the Facility is €22 million. "We also aim to set up a European Endowment for Democracy," he added.
"We need to communicate our work to citizens. Improving the visibility of our activities within the Eastern Partnership is certainly a challenge for the future," Füle said.
Positions:
Commission President José Manuel Barroso said he particularly appreciated the quality of the dialogue, acknowledging that sometimes "different views were expressed".Regarding the fact that Belarus left the summit unilaterally, he said: "It is true that on the European Union's side we would have wished to include a reference to Belarus there but for some reasons this was not possible."
"I would like to highlight, however, that from the different interventions in the room I think we can say that probably there are differences on the methods but we all share the same goal, that of a democratic and free Belarus closely associated with the other partners of the region and of course with all the members of the European Union," he added
Following his intervention in the plenary session of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw, the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek stated:
"Whilst we should do our utmost to support the democratic aspirations of our neighbours in the South, we should not overlook the desire for Europe which comes from the east. The European Parliament supports the 'more for more' principle, in the form of constructive engagement at all levels. The lack of progress in some of our Eastern European partners in the fields of democracy, rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the respect for the opposition, means that the full potential of our cooperation rests unfulfilled."
Štefan Füle European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, said he hoped more could be achieved in some areas.
"The progress of reforms in some countries has not been as constant, comprehensive and advanced as we hoped. In a number of cases, we have noted back-sliding, for instance regarding freedom of media or rule of law," Füle said.
"The principle of 'more for more' between the EU and Partners needs to become a reality. This will require efforts on all sides. When Partners make genuine progress in reform programmes, the European Union must respond accordingly. This includes providing financial support, making travel easier and allowing access to the EU market," the Commissioner stated.
