Tallinn - The signing of an association and free trade agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in Vilnius in November, and the initialing of similar accords with Moldova and Georgia will not put and end to the EU's Eastern Partnership program, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said.
“The Easter Partnership program will definitely continue,” he said in an interview with Interfax.
“It is being implemented at a varying pace and much depends on what these countries aspire to. For instance, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova hope for closer relations with the EU,” the Estonian foreign minister said.
“The other countries kept a lower profile, Belarus having the most reserved position. But there are certain aspects in relations with the EU which Belarus thinks could rest on a systemic footing. So ultimately, the content of this program largely depends on what each country wants and the degree of relations it wants to maintain with the EU in the chosen areas,” Paet said.
“Clearly, these six states’ ambitions are different,” he said, adding that much depends on the EU’s position.
Paet declined to speak about which of the six states involved in the program would be ready to sign the association and trade accords soon.
“I wouldn’t know. This depends on these countries’ development, and its range is very wide today. Whereas an agreement can be signed with Ukraine already, Belarus is a big problem. Much depends on the countries involved in the partnership and on how they see their future with the EU,” Paet said.
“Trying to predict the timeframe would be senseless. What is known now for sure is that if the agreements with Moldova and Georgia are initialed, the next step would be to sign agreements with them. We hope this will be done next year. If these agreements are signed, a ratification stage will begin. The agreements will have to be ratified by all EU members, and by the states in the partnership progr am,” Paet said.
