| Author (Corporate) | European Council |
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| Publisher | EU |
| Publication Date | 21/05/2015 |
| Content Type | Key Source, News |
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The fourth Eastern Partnership was scheduled to take place in Riga, Latvia on 21-22 May 2015. It was seen as an opportunity for EU leaders to meet with representatives of the EaP countries and to reconfirm the importance the European Union attaches to its Eastern Partnership. The summit was also seen as the occasion to demonstrate EU's determination to pursue closer, differentiated relations with its independent and sovereign EaP partners. It was set to be chaired by the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk who, together with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, were designated to represent the European Union. The summit will be hosted by the Prime Minister of Latvia, Laimdota Straujuma. + Differentiation and inclusivity The summit should demonstrate that the EU continues to engage strongly with all six of our independent and sovereign partners, whatever their individual level of ambition in terms of relations with the EU. + The Eastern Partnership Leaders will reaffirm the importance of the reform agenda and the EU's support towards its implementation. Discussions will particularly focus on cooperation projects aiming at: + enforcing state building and rule of law and helping partner countries to strengthen institutions and their resilience to external challenges Conflict resolution in the region will also be high on the agenda of the summit. EU leaders will pursue all efforts aiming at de-escalation and a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine, and the peaceful settlement of other unresolved conflicts in the region. The Eastern Partnership was launched in 2009, as a joint initiative between the European Union, its member states and six Eastern European/South Caucasus partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan,Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The March 2015 European Council set out the objectives for the 2015 summit, which will follow the third Eastern Partnership summit, which took place under the Lithuanian presidency in 2013. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2015/05/21-22/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Europe |
