Press Release: Going East: Forum on the regional and local dimension of the EU Eastern Partnership

On 16 and 17 June, 2009, the Committee of the Regions is organising two days of discussion and debate on the Eastern Partnership to coincide with its own plenary session. This event comes in the wake of the initiative's launch on 7 May by the heads of state or government of the 27 EU Member States, their counterparts from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, and representatives of the European institutions, including CoR president Luc Van den Brande. At this forum the CoR is bringing together institutional and political players, members of civil society, project operators and researchers. The forum is above all designed as an opportunity to share experiences and encourage the launch of local projects with representatives of the Eastern Partnership countries, local and regional authorities, the business world, non-governmental organisations, associations and the European institutions.