POLAND, SWEDEN OFFER NEW POLICY FOR EU AND EASTERN NEIGHBORS

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.05.2008 13:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ As European Union officials mull a Mediterranean
Union to bring in the bloc’s southern neighbors, some eastern members
want a similar initiative to focus on former Soviet states. But it
wouldn’t include the region’s biggest player.

Polish Premier Donald Tusk and his Swedish counterpart, Fredrik
Reinfeldt, are expected to present a plan to their EU colleagues
in June that will call for more cooperation with Ukraine, Moldova,
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to news reports. Even
Belarus, which has been ostracized because of its dictatorial regime,
would be invited to participate – albeit on a reduced level.

"We would like to see the EU upgrading its contacts with the east at
a time the EU is upgrading relations with the Mediterranean region,"
an unnamed Polish diplomat said.

Called the Eastern Partnership, the new initiative would offer
participating countries liberalized trade, the lifting of travel
restrictions, cultural exchanges and aid programs. The eastern
partners, in return, would be expected to push ahead with political
and economic reforms.

Unlike the Mediterranean Union, the Eastern Partnership would not
have its own secretariat, but would be run by the European Commission
and financed from the European neighborhood policy budget, Web site
EUObserver.com reported, adding that a commission official would be
appointed as "special coordinator."

The plan falls short of giving countries any prospects of EU
membership, as western European states are wary of any further
expansion drives at the moment. Poland, however, does back eventual
membership for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

France, which takes over the rotating EU presidency in July, is
planning to offer Ukraine stronger ties to the EU after the bloc
launched a free trade pact with the country earlier this year.

Poland’s premier, meanwhile, is expected to discuss a stronger eastern
policy with French President Nicolas Sarkozy when the latter comes
to Warsaw for a long-delayed visit next week.

The region’s heavy-weight, Russia, will not be invited to join the
partnership under the initial proposal. EU officials on Wednesday,
however, agreed to initiate separate talks on a wide-ranging
cooperation agreement.

EU foreign ministers are likely to discuss the idea at their meeting in
Brussels on Monday, May 26. The plan has reportedly been well-received
by the EU Commission as well as key member states, including Britain,
France, Germany and the Netherlands. Italy, Portugal and Spain,
on the other hand, are skeptical, Deutsche Welle reports.