Sigmar Gabriel to Vestnik Kavkaza: "I support more active policy in Eastern Partnership countries"

Recently, European Union's Eastern Partnership project, which covers Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, faded into the background of the EU and former Soviet republics' agenda. Initially, this project was viewed as eastern dimension of the European neighborhood policy. However, the project was not as attractive as it seemed at first. Of all six member countries of the Eastern Partnership, only three have signed an association agreement with the European Union so far - Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine. Azerbaijan initially wanted cooperation on an equal basis. It refused to participate in the Euro-association, saying that this agreement does not correspond to the country's economic interests. Belarus has similar position. Yesterday, head of the European Office of Vestnik Kavkaza, Orkhan Sattarov, asked German Foreign Minister, Sigmar Gabriel, about the prospects of Eastern Partnership. 

"There are no red lines for the Eastern Partnership countries in the issue of European integration," Sigmar Gabriel said, responding to the question about the existence of restrictions on EU membership for states that participate in the Eastern Partnership program, taking into account Russia's critical position on this issue. According to Gabriel, the only limitation depends on whether these countries comply with the so-called "Copenhagen criteria". 

"I believe that the main problem is that path to the European Union requires more time than people in these countries expect, and it concerns not only those countries that want to join the EU, but also to the state of the EU itself. In my opinion, the EU is not doing enough to help these countries in their desire to join the union," he noted. "For example, there is a so-called 'Berlin process', aimed at the work with western Balkans. We promised a lot in its framework. Meanwhile, people of Balkans are disappointed, because so little happens between annual meetings. There have been talks about the construction of new autobahns for many years, but they are not being built. The same can be said about renovation of power plants. These projects are pretty easy, and they can really help to improve people's lives. I wish the EU would take more active actions in those spheres that will make everyday life better, contribute to the economic development," he stressed.

"Path to the EU accession of some countries will last longer, others will overcome this path faster. But if not enough will be done during this time people will lose hope, and we can't allow that. That's why I support more active policy in the region - especially in the countries of the Eastern Partnership," he concluded.

Initially, the European Union named democracy, good governance and stability; economic integration and convergence with the EU's sectoral economic policy, including creation of the free trade zones; energy security; as well as liberalization of the visa regime and strengthening of the fight against illegal migration as main priorities of reforms in the partner countries. The next Eastern Partnership summit will be held on November 24 in Brussels. Georgia and Ukraine hope to receive a clear message about the prospects of their accession to the EU.