VILNIUS, NOVEMBER 2013
Eastern Partnership Summit:
Associate EU agreements with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia?

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit that will take place in November in Vilnius, is already generating buzz.

Set to be a major milestone in the EU’s relations with the Eastern Partnership states, the summit is expected to reach a crescendo with the signing of an Association Agreement with Ukraine. The announcement of the end of talks on or even the initialing of similar agreements with Moldova and Georgia may be additional high notes.

Yet, the Vilnius Summit may well end up as just another photo opportunity for the EU and EaP leaders. And the EU will be solely responsible for that.

Whether Ukraine is willing to meet all the EU’s conditions for the signing of an agreement before the summit is very uncertain. With EU member states divided over Ukraine’s relationship with the union, the Poles and the Lithuanians—among the most vocal advocates of Ukraine in the EU—are unlikely to get consensus among the 28 to sign the agreement at the summit if the Ukrainians do not deliver.

In Moldova, a pro-European coalition fell apart, and even if a new coalition is formed relatively quickly, the political landscape in the country remains unstable.

Initial concerns within the EU about the tactics used by the government of Bidzina Ivanishvili in Georgia seemed to be calming down. But there are fresh worries about the political nature of the prosecution of former government officials.

Read more...