The EU's Eastern Partnership [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Briefing 24-11-2017

The European Union and its Eastern Partnership neighbours hold their fifth summit on 24 November 2017, to take stock of the eight-year-old cooperation programme and map ways to strengthen political and economic ties. The Eastern Partnership is a regional programme of the European Neighbourhood Policy, aimed at promoting closer cooperation between the European Union, its Member States, and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It has achieved progress, such as association agreements and visa-free regimes with Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine, albeit limited by the conflicts and political instability in the region. The programme signals the EU’s willingness to reinforce ties with the region, offering incentives to governments and civil society to push ahead with democratic and economic reforms. This note offers links to recent commentaries and reports by major international think tanks on the Eastern Partnership and the countries it embraces. More reports on the topic can be found in a previous edition of 'What Think Tanks are Thinking' published in November 2016.