Urmas Paet: "Is the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative yielding results?"

Is the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative yielding results?

Urmas Paet,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia

”Work hard and persevere, and love will come”. A renowned Estonian author A.H. Tammsaare once wrote in his ‘Truth and Justice’: Work hard and persevere, and love will come. There is certainly a lot of truth in it.

And how it relates to the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP)? I would like to argue that motivation and hard work are key to success in the Eastern Partnership as well. Mutual efforts of the participants in the EaP (that is the EU and the Eastern partner countries) will bring if not love, then respect and understanding on top of the tangible progress in political and economic terms needed for both the Eastern Partners and the EU.

I believe Estonia is a good example of this approach – we have come a long way since regaining our independence and setting off on a decisive and relentless reform and euro-atlantic integration path in the early 1990s. We have not been handed success on a silver plate and opened golden doors to the western clubs of the well-to-do from the start, but we have had a lot of support and encouragement on our road to democracy. This is the case with the EU’s Eastern Partners now. Our general advice to them is to use this opportunity to the maximum and keep working towards a better future, be it success in close co-operation with the EU or eventually inside the EU. In any case, those efforts and consecutively, progress, are crucial for their own development. At the same time, the EU should also show clear and continuous commitment to assist its Eastern Partners and support their EU integration, out of responsibility and solidarity, but also because the sound development of the EU’s immediate neighbourhood is essential for the EU. Eventually, we have to acknowledge that the European choice of some of our Eastern partner countries may need a clear perspective for the progress to continue.

Two years after the launch of the Eastern Partnership, the relations between the EU and most of its Eastern partner countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – have become closer than ever.  All of them are currently negotiating the Association Agreements with the EU and taking steps towards trade and visa liberalisation. This can eventually result in the Eastern Partners being able to accede to the EU’s internal market and fully enjoy its four freedoms - free movement of goods, capital, services and people. The multilateral co-operation platforms of the EaP – focused on democracy, good governance and stability, economic integration and convergence with EU policies, energy security and contacts between people – have become operational and continue to grow. For example, Estonia has recently proposed and contributed to establishing a panel on Public Administration Reform that we consider important for progress in any area.

Without a doubt, the Eastern Partnership has so far been a success, but there is still room for improvement. Now that the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is under a comprehensive review and we are preparing for the upcoming second Eastern Partnership Summit in autumn 2011, it is vital to ask ourselves: where have we succeeded, where are the gaps and what are the areas where we need to add momentum? It is important both to continue implementing the already existing policy while making it more functional and effective.

The European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have recently published the annual ENP progress reports and put forward a joint communication envisaging a renewed policy for a changing neighbourhood. The renewed approach combines a partnership with societies, differentiation of partner countries and closer co-operation on political matters (including protracted conflicts) and other areas (including mobility, trade, energy, etc), accompanied by appropriate financial resources and tools. This is a welcome evolution of the policy launched in 2004, relevant for both its Southern and Eastern dimension, and fits well with our argument that motivation and hard work are key to success, as enhanced ownership and co-operation opportunities are excellent motivators whereas differentiation also means additional rewards for progress made in the partner countries’ reform and EU approximation process, according to the principle of more for more. I believe this should also address some issues the partner countries have been reproaching to the EU – namely that the EU is not doing enough, not giving enough and not opening enough. Put in the context of differentiation, all this (doing, giving and opening) will largely depend on the aspirations and achievements of every partner country. The European Neighbourhood Policy will be strong and coherent, yet taking into account that the countries and the regions are different in what they want and what they do – just like the EU itself with its motto ‘Unity in diversity’.

As to the Eastern Partnership, it is part of the ENP, all the above described logic applies. At the present stage, our primary objective is to encourage and assist the partner countries in their political and economic reforms as well as approximation to the EU policies and standards. Technical progress is needed as regards to the DCFTA, visa liberalisation and further EU integration – it is not just about political decisions. As soon as real progress has been made, the negotiations on the DCFTA can and should be taken forward (Georgia and Moldova being next in line) with the ultimate objective of creating a common free trade area. As the first step towards the ultimate goal of visa-free travel between the Eastern partner countries and the EU, we have established visa facilitation with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. We are on the right track, but it is time for more dynamic progress. The Eastern Partners must understand that the EU takes those goals seriously and that reaching them requires complete homework.

The multilateral co-operation dimension of the EaP should also be enhanced. Learning from each other is an important aspect of the multilateral work and added value can be created through the established thematic platforms. Co-operation in other sectors such as transport and environment is desirable as well. We should also strengthen the co-operation with interested third countries and international organisations.

Money is not necessarily a good motivator, but it is necessary to get things done. The EU is funding the co-operation with its Eastern as well as the Southern partner countries through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument – ENPI, and other appropriate sources. The amount of money allocated to the ENP has increased over the years. We should however take a closer look at how this money is being spent. The allocations should be closely linked to the policy objectives, needs and progress made by the target countries – coming back to the principle of differentiation. Rigid quotas and allocations for countries or regions are neither fair nor functional – we should respond to the reality and be able to react to changes. The countries that move ahead at a quicker pace should receive more assistance in order to improve their capacity to deal with the challenge.

Apart from the implementation of the ENP Action Plans with the long term objectives of sustainable development and approximation to the EU, it is also essential for the partner countries to focus on programmes with immediate and tangible results in different areas. On top of the EU assistance, a number of Member States, including Estonia, are also assisting the Eastern Partners through bilateral programmes. For Estonia, the Eastern neighbourhood is a priority area for political as well as development co-operation and the growing interest from our Eastern Partners is encouraging us to strengthen our efforts. To support our EaP related activities in a more co-ordinated manner, we have recently established the Estonian Center of Eastern Partnership (ECEAP) in Tallinn with a main focus on sharing our own reform experience and raising the Eastern Partners’ administrative capacity. The centre provides training for the civil servants from the EaP countries through annual scholarships and seminars conducts research and will realise other co-operation projects. We are closely co-operating with several Member States and the European Commission and are interested in involving other countries as well.

To conclude with: Europe's strength lies in its transformative power that is underpinned by its vast internal market. We have to keep that in mind when shaping our policies and relating to our neighbours. We must not wait until the crisis but have to be proactive in preventing acute problems and solving the protracted ones. We are standing in front of the second Eastern Partnership Summit. We hope all the leaders will be there and give another strong impetus for the partnership to flourish. After all, the more political will there is on both sides to work hand-in-hand, the more fruitful our efforts. 

Europe's World