Weekly Briefing, Vol. 29, No. 4 (PL), May 2020
Polish engagement in the Eastern Partnership
In recent weeks, intensive efforts by Polish diplomacy are underway to prepare the next EU Summit with Eastern Partnership countries scheduled for June 18, 2020. The future of the Eastern Partnership program as well as efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic were the main topics of talks held by Minister Jacek Czaputowicz on May 6 and 7 with the heads of diplomacy of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Poland, together with Sweden, is the main architect of this project, and since 2009 actively supports the efforts of the Member States of the program in their cooperation with the European Union.
Talks about the present state and future of EaP
During the consultations held by the head of Polish diplomacy with his counterparts from EaP Member States, Minster Czaputowicz assured of “unwavering support from Poland for the ambitious development of the Eastern Partnership policy”. First, Ministers discussed current issues related to the international fight against the pandemic – the EaP countries receive tangible financial support from the European Union in the fight against COVID-19. Poland itself also actively supports the EaP countries in this regard. As part of development and humanitarian aid, material support was transferred to the countries of this initiative. On April 23 a convoy with drugs, medical and protective measures was sent from Warsaw. As Czaputowicz highlighted: “Fast and necessary assistance provided to the Eastern Partnership countries confirms Polish solidarity and support for our partners in such difficult times.” He also declared readiness for further assistance if the situation related to the coronavirus epidemic in the Eastern Partnership countries requires it.
The main task of the consultations, however, was to set up a plan for the next partnership meeting, scheduled for June 18, 2020. Discussing the expectations for the upcoming summit, Czaputowicz emphasized that in the era of new global challenges, the EU should set goals together with its partners, and respond to the expectations and needs of all participating countries. “The nearest EU-EaP Summit should bear witness to the EU’s commitment to Eastern policy” the Polish Minister noted and added that the summit should focus primarily on economic recovery. He highlighted, that in the next step, after mastering the pandemic, the European Community and the six EaP states will have to focus on joint actions to deal with the economic and social consequences of the crisis.
Minister Czaputowicz also announced the continuation of consultations on the development perspectives of the Eastern Partnership among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. An opportunity for this will be the annual Polish presidency of the Visegrad Group starting on July 1, 2020. The head of the Polish MFA announced the organization of a meeting of foreign ministers in the V4 and EaP format, which will be devoted to developing recommendations for the future. Moreover the heads of diplomacy of the Eastern Partnership countries confirmed their commitment to the development of the Eastern Partnership, in particular in the sectoral – economic, energy and infrastructural – dimensions.
Importance of the Eastern Partnership
The significance of the Eastern Partnership for Polish foreign policy is enormous. In May 2020, 11 years have passed since this cooperation format was initiated. From the very beginning it was an initiative to intensify the European Union’s dialogue with the countries of the Eastern Neighborhood and to present comprehensive activities of the Community towards these countries. The partners of this initiative are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Partnership project was initiated by Polish diplomacy activities supported by Sweden.
Poland, as the co-creator of the Eastern Partnership, was at the same time one of the authors of the process of reflection on its future, imposing this topic for European discussion. The European Union in its policy towards the Eastern Partnership has so far been focused on political reforms and strengthening democratic processes in partner countries and taking appropriate actions to facilitate visa, economic assistance and support in the form of raising the competences of civil society administration and organizations. Therefore the pillars of the partnership included:
- strengthening state institutions and good governance to improve their quality by supporting reforms in public administration, the civil service and the judiciary, and the fight against corruption. An important part in this respect is cooperation in the field of the Common Security and Defense Policy;
- economic development and taking advantage of market opportunities aimed at ensuring macroeconomic stability in the region through support for SMEs, equalization of opportunities on the labour market and development differences between regions as well as development of the digital market. The main tool are agreements on a deep and comprehensive free trade zone, the implementation of which is one of the most important tasks facing partner countries;
- expansion of connectivity, energy and environmental issues, which include the development of both “hard” (transport, energy, digital) and “soft” connections (standards, good practices). This is to lead to permanent links between the EU and the EaP countries in legal and infrastructural terms, which should result in closer cooperation at the social, economic and political level;
- improving mobility and people-to-people contacts, implemented especially through visa facilitation as well as strengthening of communication infrastructure (digitization, roaming abolition, construction of connections).
Throughout the years the partnership developed, based on the interests, ambitions and progress of individual partners, enabling a differentiated approach and allowing a flexible and non-exclusive way to face common and global challenges and to support regional integration. The current policy objectives of the Eastern Partnership have been set out in the program named “20 results expected by 2020”, agreed in 2017. However, since the program must be consistent with modern requirements and must follow a rapidly changing reality, it was reformed in recent time. In 2019, extensive consultations were held regarding the new EaP action program. Poland, as the main architect of this format of cooperation, wanted to use the opportunity of 10th anniversary of the Partnership to intensively promote the EaP through cultural, political and expert events, and to undertake an in-depth reflection on its future after 2020. The new policy objectives were determined on the basis of systematic consultations on the future of the Eastern Partnership in 2019 with the broad participation of Member States, civil society organizations, academia, enterprises and financial institutions.
Effect of the consultations was creating a solid framework for the cooperation, which should bring tangible benefits to citizens. The agenda is designed to face common challenges and strengthen the resilience of these countries to current problems, which will be the overarching goal of the post-2020 policy. This means that further cooperation between the EU and its partners will focus on new policy priorities that will support ecological and digital transformation and shape economies that serve everyone, and in particular ensure more jobs for young people and strengthen gender equality. The agenda is to create:
- a partnership that creates cooperation for resilient, sustainable and integrated economies;
- a partnership that protects collaboration for institutions, the rule of law and security;
- a cooperation for environmental and climate resilience;
- a cooperation for flexible digital transformation;
- a partnership supporting cooperation for just and inclusive societies.
On May 11, 2020, the Council of the European Union approved guidelines for the development of the Eastern Partnership after 2020. Thus, it confirmed the strategic importance of this partnership and the mutual will to build a common space of universal democracy, prosperity and stability.
After this declaration by the EU Council, Poland expressed its satisfaction with the “significant achievements of the Eastern Partnership”. It also confirmed the use of an incentive and condition-based approach to encourage Eastern Partnership countries to continue reforms. At the same time, it was emphasized that a multilateral meeting (27 EU countries plus 6 EaP countries) is necessary despite the ongoing pandemic – Poland opts to hold a video conference. It is also crucial to adopt a joint declaration, confirming previous arrangements.
The Eastern Partnership Summit, regardless of the format in which it will be organized, will review the results achieved since the previous meeting at the highest level in 2017. Leaders are also to approve long-term political goals, set the direction for further strengthening of cooperation and give mandate to carry out preparatory work on the next set of objectives for the period after 2020.
Conclusions
To sum up, it should be stated that the Eastern Partnership is an extremely important initiative for the Polish government. From Poland’s point of view, this is a policy that not only ensures a stable neighbourhood on the eastern side of the Schengen area, but also strengthens Poland’s brand as a leader in the European Union’s relations with Eastern European countries. Poland, which has the longest border with non-EU countries, has always seen itself as a vital architect of relations with the region.
However, the EaP is currently lacking in favorable international conditions which would ensure that this initiative is recognized as an essential EU project. It seems, that it is more important for EU politicians to heal the economy and to be involved in the process of change in North Africa, as to concentrate on Eastern European countries. Also, the situation in the countries of Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus does not encourage greater involvement – due to non-compliance with democratic principles and too slow reforms. Therefore, it seems that Poland’s task to transform EaP into focal topic on the EU agenda is not yet completed.