EU seeks closer cooperation with 6 east European countries

The EU will hold its third Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Thursday and Friday to foster relations and cooperation with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The summit will be chaired by the President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy, who together with the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, will represent the European Union, noted an EU statement. The summit will be hosted by the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaite whose country holds the current EU Presidency. The six east European countries will be represented by the Armenian President SerzhSargsyan, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President Georgi Margvelashvili of Georgia, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Vladimir Makei, Foreign Minister of Belarus. The President of the European Parliament Martin Schultz, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule and Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht will also attend the summit. "Our objective is to work together with our partners in the region to build - step by step - a democratic, prosperous and stable neighbourhood based on the rule of law. Vilnius will mark the end of the first decade of the Union's neighbourhood policy and the first four years since the launch of the Eastern Partnership in Prague in 2009," said Van Rompuy in press statements. On his part, Barroso said, "the Eastern Partnership is part of a much bigger transformation taking place on the European Union's borders. In the last few years the European Union became the biggest trading partner and source of investments, a political presence and a reliable partner to most of our Eastern neighbours. Ultimately Europe and the Eastern partners can only flourish as an integrated continent without dividing lines". At the summit the EU will also sign a framework agreement with Georgia on participation in EU crisis management operations.