"The events that take place among six Eastern Partnership countries are very important for us," stated Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. "In the last ten years, the focus of Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan has been redirected towards the West. This is where Russia's recent very aggressive attitude originated from," explained the head of the Polish government.

As the Prime Minister pointed out, the European Union should extend a helping hand to the Eastern Partnership countries and provide them with generous help. "Either Russia will dominate the EaP countries for decades to come, or the EU will open up to these states more," emphasised Mateusz Morawiecki.

Poland actively involved in the Eastern policy of the European Union

Poland has consistently worked to implement the strategic goals of the Eastern Partnership, regarding it as an instrument allowing for the closest possible integration of the EU countries. We believe that our priority consists in strengthening the economic relations of the EU and its Member States with Eastern neighbours, gradually bringing them closer to the common market, as well as developing sectoral cooperation that will bring benefits to the citizens.

Poland has positively evaluated the creation of the so-called Associated Trio (Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova), and has been supporting the European aspirations of these states. In the case of Belarus, which has suspended its membership in the EaP, cooperation with civil society and the democratic opposition is especially important.

Strategic considerations on the future of the Eastern Partnership

According to Poland, the future of the EaP should be strategically analysed. It is also necessary to be prepared for various scenarios of the future situation in the region. The increasingly aggressive Russian policy and events taking place in Belarus and the South Caucasus raise the need to attach more and more importance to security issues. Therefore, the key issue in the coming years will involve defining a broadly-understood security dimension of the Eastern Partnership policy.

Eastern Partnership countries are among the main beneficiaries of Poland's development cooperation. As part of the joint fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as well as its social and economic consequences, Poland has assumed a coordinating role in the distribution of vaccines donated by the EU Member States to the EaP countries.

Eastern Partnership programme

The Eastern Partnership is a strategic programme initiated by Poland and Sweden, which defines the Eastern dimension of the European Union's Neighbourhood Policy. It was launched in 2009 and aims to strengthen the cooperation between the EU, its Member States and Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Partnership has developed based on the interests, ambitions and progress of each partner, allowing for diverse approaches and enabling support of their cooperation with the EU in a flexible way. To this point, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have made the biggest progress in their efforts to ensure tighter European cooperation among all EaP countries. In July 2021, the Presidents of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed a declaration establishing a new form of the Associated Trio. It is designed to enable consultation on activities and deepening of the trilateral cooperation allowing these countries to obtain EU membership, as well as coordination of positions within the Eastern Partnership. In June this year, the Belarusian authorities announced the suspension of their participation in the Eastern Partnership policy.