The European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, has announced preparations of new formats for the countries of the Eastern Partnership program reluctant to integrate into the European Union.
Asim Mollazadeh, an Azerbaijani lawmaker and political analyst, opined that the commissioner was talking about Armenia as a country that had given up serious cooperation with the EU in favour of the Eurasian and the Customs Unions. He noted that not all programs within the framework of the Eastern Partnership had been fully accomplished. Azerbaijan, in Mollazadeh's words, cooperates in the fields of education and culture, it has a simplified visa regime with the European Union, access to European universities. The sides have a strategic partnership agreement in energy.
Alexander Iskandaryan, the director of the Institute of the Caucasus, assumes that the Eastern Partnership could be reformed in light of the upcoming summit in Riga on May 21-22. He reminded that Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia had Association Agreements with the EU, Armenia had joined the EaEU and cooperates with the EU. Moldova has a simplified visa regime with the EU, Georgia and Ukraine are working on similar agreements. Iskandaryan agrees that Hahn's statement referred to Armenia. The EU may offer a memorandum that would not contradict the norms of membership in the CSTO and the EaEU. The analyst recalled that the neighbourhood policy had been followed by formation of the Eastern Partnership, which will then be reformed into different programs for members of the Partnership.
Politologist Iosif Tsiskarishvili believes that it is too early to wrap up the Eastern Partnership program. He is confident that Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia will not be left without support. The expert reminded that Georgia had made the best progress as a member of the Partnership, but was still too far from joining the EU. Tsiskarishvili said that Georgia had signed the Association Agreement and gained access to the 500-million-person market, it had prospects of joining the Schengen Zone. The politologist said that the program was a serious tool for promotion of European values.
