KOUCHNER: TURKEY AND RUSSIA SHOULD JOIN PROJECTS WITHIN THE EU

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.02.2009 23:24 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey and Russia should be allowed to join select
projects within the European Union’s planned partnership with its
former-Soviet neighbors, EU foreign ministers said today. At a meeting
in Brussels, EU diplomats agreed that "the six countries concerned by
the Eastern Partnership should not exclude, and should even invite
in on a case-by-case basis and not as permanent members … Russia
and Turkey," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said.

That inclusion would not stretch to projects on visa liberalization
or free trade, for which separate negotiations are being carried out,
but "in general terms, (we are) open to third-party participation
on a case-by-case project basis," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl
Bildt stated.

But Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, who chaired the
meeting, appeared to play down the idea, saying that in theory
Japan and the United States could also take part in selected
projects. "Anyone who wants to work with us is welcome. We are open
to cooperation with many countries," he said.

In early December, the European Commission unveiled plans to spend
an additional 350 million euros (449 million dollars) – on top of
the 250 million already allocated – to help promote stability and
prosperity in Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Moldova.

Noting that the commission currently spends about two-thirds of
its regional cooperation money on the EU’s southern neighbours, EU
foreign-affairs commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she hoped
member states would endorse the commission’s eastern proposal at a
summit on March 19-20.

The Eastern Partnership is meant to be one of the highlights of the
Czech presidency. But its success is by no means assured, with some
member states in southern Europe fearing that a major increase of
funding to the EU’s eastern neighbours would shift its strategic focus
away from North Africa and the Middle East. The Eastern Partnership
is expected to be formally launched at a dedicated summit taking
place in Prague on May 7, The Earth Times reports.