The video conference was held to prepare for the Eastern Partnership Summit scheduled for December 15 and the European Council meeting scheduled for December 16-17. The main topics to be discussed at the European Council meeting include the COVID-19 pandemic, rising energy prices, security and defense as well as EU foreign policy. The European Council meeting will also focus on the external aspects of migration, EU crisis management and resilience, the ongoing hybrid attack by the Belarusian regime, the protection of the EU’s external borders, and the escalation of the situation on the Ukraine-Russia border.
During the preparatory meeting, the President stressed that while the situation on the EU-Belarus border had stabilized, that stability was fragile and the EU needed to implement changes to migration, asylum and border protection policies as soon as possible. The President recalled the letter sent a few days ago by 7 EU heads of state and government to the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission on the need to take immediate decisions on the amendment of EU legislation in these areas and to ensure adequate funding for the EU’s external border protection infrastructure.
Gitanas Nausėda also drew the attention of the other EU leaders to the tense security situation near Ukraine and noted that the EU had to express its strong support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Eastern Partnership Summit will focus on strengthening cooperation between the EU and the Eastern partners with a view to ensuring that the Eastern Partnership policy remains a strategic priority for the EU. Prior to the formal Eastern Partnership Summit, the leaders of the EU member states and the three associated countries – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia – will meet on the initiative of the President to discuss the implementation of the Association Agreement/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area and reforms, the strengthening of cooperation among the associated partners and regional security challenges.
When discussing the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit, the President emphasized that it was now more relevant than ever for the European Union to highlight the importance of the Eastern Partnership initiative. According to Gitanas Nausėda, the EU must enable the associated partners – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia – to gradually integrate into the EU’s internal market, with long-term prospects for euro-integration.
