A pivotal moment for the Eastern Partnership : outlook for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan : hearing before the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, first session, November 14, 2013.

Since its inception in 2009, the Eastern Partnership has provided an important framework for countries that seek a closer partnership with the European Union. While these agreements are exclusively between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries, the United States does have an interest in furthering democracy and stability throughout Europe and Eurasia. We believe, just like the EU, that integration of these nations only can happen when key conditions are met by applicant nations, particularly around issues related to the rule of law, government transparency, and open economic policies. The Eastern Partnership does not preclude a relationship with Russia. By dint of geography, it makes sense for each of these countries to maintain a healthy relationship with the Russian Federation, as well as with the European Union. Unfortunately, Russia has put considerable pressure on each of the partnership countries to discourage them from strengthening relations with the EU. Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus should be free to chart their own future.

"Trouble in the neighbourhood? The future of the EU's Eastern Partnership takes stock of recent developments in the EU's relationship with the countries in its eastern neighbourhood: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. Despite major setbacks for the EU's Eastern Partnership project ahead of the key 2013 Vilnius Summit, the dramatic subsequent events in Ukraine have placed this European policy and Russia's response to it at the centre of global geo-politics. The publication looks at the key planks of the EU's approach to the region, including the offers of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements, visa liberalisation, funding for reform projects and political engagement. It examines both the EU's objectives in the region and how Europe is perceived by the Eastern Partnership countries themselves."--Page 4 of cover

The Eastern Partnership is a joint initiative of the EU and eastern European partner countries launched at the Prague Summit in 2009. Its overarching aim is to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union and its six eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The partnership builds on existing bilateral relations between the EU and its eastern European partners and represents the eastern dimension of the European neighbourhood policy.

The enlargement of the European Union towards the Central and Eastern Europe has brought to attention the necessity to reshape the EU institutional framework and specific policies addressing its new neighbourhood. Repeatedly stating that the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is not a preceding phase for membership, the European Union also embraced the Polish-Swedish initiative for an Eastern Partnership (EaP). Meant at first to counterbalance the Union for Mediterranean project, the EaP has developed into a distinct project, with specific and ambitious cooperation goals, a positive and constructive agenda meant to support six countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Belarus) develop and harmonize with the European standards and, at the same, attempting to build and further develop an Eastern dimension of the ENP. The questions of the efficiency of the conditionality derived from the EaP and also the complementarity of this initiative with other regional projects in the area can also be important matters of concern.