# EUR-Lex - 52013SC0085 - EN

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# 52013SC0085

**JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2012 Regional Report: Eastern Partnership Accompanying the document JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY: WORKING TOWARDS A STRONGER PARTNERSHIP /* SWD/2013/085 final */**

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1.          INTRODUCTION

In
2012, significant progress was made with the implementation of the Eastern
Partnership (EaP), both on the bilateral and the multilateral track. Despite this
achievement, in some partner countries limited progress in democratic reforms,
respect for human rights and the rule of law continued to pose a challenge for achieving
the objective of political association and economic integration with the EU.

An
important step for the EaP was the joint communication from the High
Representative for Foreign and Security Policy / European
Commission Vice-President (HR/VP) and the European Commission of
15 May to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Eastern Partnership: A
Roadmap to the autumn 2013 Summit and the two accompanying joint staff working
documents Eastern Partnership Roadmap 2012-13: the bilateral
dimension and Eastern Partnership 2012-13: the multilateral
dimension.

The
Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers Meeting in July 2012 stated that the
Roadmap was a basis for guiding and monitoring further implementation of the EaP
objectives set in the Prague and Warsaw Declarations until the next Summit in Vilnius in autumn 2013. The ministers also welcomed the launching of cooperation
in new areas, such as public administration reform, transport, migration and
asylum, and the increased engagement of the Civil Society Forum (CSF) in the
EaP’s work. In all six EaP countries, CSF national platforms have been set up,
providing civil society organisations with a chance to engage in the
implementation of the EaP at country level. Moreover, the CSF is now a regular
and active participant in most EaP meetings. The EaP Ministers Meeting also
stressed the importance of increasing the visibility of the Partnership.

Substantial
progress was made on Association Agreements including a Deep and
Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Negotiations on the EU-Ukraine
Association Agreement were finalised and it was initialled. In its Conclusions
of 10 December, the Foreign Affairs Council reaffirmed its commitment to
signing the Agreement, including a DFCTA, as soon as the Ukrainian authorities
demonstrate determined action and tangible progress in three areas: holding 2012
parliamentary elections compliant with international standards and follow-up
actions; addressing the issue of selective justice and preventing its
recurrence; and implementing reforms set out in the jointly agreed Association
Agenda. Good progress continued to be made in negotiations on association agreements
with the Republic of Moldova,[1] Georgia and Armenia. Progress was also made in the negotiations with Azerbaijan. The EU also indicated
by the end of 2012 that it was ready to launch negotiations on Association
Agendas as soon as possible, in line with the Roadmap. As regards citizen’s
mobility in a secure and well-managed environment, the EU made
headway towards the goal of visa liberalisation for short-term travel, in due
course, with five of the six EaP countries.

The comprehensive
institution building programme entered the implementation phase with the
aim of strengthening the administrations of partner countries, as their
capacity to manage and push forward and monitor the reform process will be
critical to its success.

The EU
has provided significant funding to support partners’ reform efforts.
For the period 2010–2013, some EUR 1.9 billion in bilateral and regional
cooperation (including EUR 350 million of fresh resources) is available. A
more systematic application of increased policy conditionality and the
application of the ‘more for more’ principle benefited the three partner
countries (Moldova, Georgia and Armenia) in terms of increased financial
assistance.

The multilateral
track of the Partnership was strengthened to help provide a forum for all
six partners and EU Member States to exchange best practice in terms of
approximation to EU standards. The four thematic multilateral platforms met
regularly to cover the main areas of cooperation. An assessment of the EaP flagship
initiatives is also provided in this report. The Partnership reached out
beyond governments to involve civil society and other key actors,
including national parliaments, the business community, social partners
(employers’ organisations and trade unions), regional and local authorities.

Throughout
the year, the EU continued its approach of critical engagement with Belarus, following the crackdown on civil society and the opposition after
the December 2010 presidential elections. A ‘European dialogue on modernisation’
was launched by the EU with Belarusian civil society on the reforms necessary
to support the modernisation of the country. The EU increased its support to
civil society. Belarus continued to participate in the multilateral track of
the EaP, including platforms and panels, and took part in the EaP Foreign
Ministers Meeting in July.

To
support political actors striving for democratic change in their countries, in
2011 the High Representative and the Commission proposed to establish a European
Endowment for Democracy (EED). Important steps were taken in 2012 to
organise and launch the EED as an independent European non-profit foundation,
with the participation of representatives of Member States, the European
Parliament, the European Commission, the High Representative and civil society
organisations. The Commission and a number of Member States already committed
funding of EUR 15 million (of which EUR 6 million from the Commission), which
should allow the EED to become fully operational in 2013.

This report covers the progress made in the implementation
of the Eastern Partnership in 2012. It is an Annex to the Joint Communication on
the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2012, and should be
read in conjunction with the Country Reports on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Moldova and Ukraine, which describe in more detail the progress made by the
individual partners in implementing the EaP.

2.         DEEPER BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT

2.1. Political
association and economic integration

>> Association Agreements (AAs)

Ukraine: An Association Agreement, including a DCFTA, was initialled
in March. Technical work, including translation of the text into EU official
languages and Ukrainian, is ongoing. This would leave the way open, provided
political conditions permit, to signature and ratification.

Moldova: Very good progress continued to be made. Negotiations on
all 24 chapters covering economic and sectoral cooperation and five chapters on
the people-to-people contacts were closed. Negotiations on other chapters were either
provisionally closed or are very well advanced. A few important issues remain.
Negotiations on the DCFTA component started in February and very good progress
was made in four negotiation rounds.

Armenia: Progress was made on the Common Foreign and Security
Policy (CFSP) and Justice, Freedom and Security (JFS) titles, most of the text of
which was agreed at four plenary meetings. Very good progress was also made on the
Sectoral Policies title (25 chapters closed out of 27). Discussions started on
the ‘Institutions’ part of the Agreement. Three rounds of negotiations on a
DCFTA took place.

Georgia: Five plenary meetings were held in Brussels and Tbilisi. The majority of the text under the CFSP and JFS titles was agreed except for a few
issues. Very good progress was also made on the ‘Institutions’ part of the
Agreement and on Sectoral and Economic Policies (23 chapters closed out of 26). Four rounds of negotiations on a DCFTA took place.

Azerbaijan: No plenary meetings were held. However, negotiations took
place on all aspects of the AA including trade issues. Negotiations resumed in
October and progress was made on Sectoral Policies (14 chapters closed out of
28), Trade and JFS. It was agreed to hold additional videoconferences on CSDP
(Common Security and Defence Policy). The next plenary is scheduled for early
2013.

Belarus: Due to domestic political circumstances, Belarus did not participate in the bilateral track of the Eastern Partnership.

One of the objectives of the Eastern Partnership Roadmap is
that negotiations on AAs with Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan should be well advanced, if not finalised, by the autumn of 2013. By
the end of 2012, the negotiations were on track to meet that objective and the EU
indicated that it was ready to follow the Roadmap further by launching negotiations
on Association Agendas as soon as possible. At the same time, the multiannual
programming exercise (2014–2017) for EU financial assistance which began in
2012 is paying specific attention to capacity and institutional needs linked to
the challenges of negotiating and implementing these Agreements.

>> DCFTAs

DCFTA negotiations with Ukraine were completed with the
initialling of the Agreement in March, while those with Georgia and Moldova continued at a good pace with four substantial rounds each, following their
launch in December 2011 and February 2012 respectively.

By the end of 2012, three rounds of negotiations with Armenia on a DCFTA had been held and good progress was made. This progress means the EU is
on track to meet the Roadmap objective that DCFTA negotiations with Armenia, Georgia and Moldova be well advanced if not finalised by autumn 2013.

>> Strengthened human rights
dialogues (HRD)

In May, the EU held the third round of its HRD
with Moldova while in November an ad hoc human rights experts meeting
with Moldova took place. Local NGOs were invited as observers. In June, the
fifth round of the HRD with Georgia was held in Tbilisi and the fourth meeting
of the EU-Armenia HRD followed in December. In June, the EU and Ukraine held a discussion on human rights questions within the JFS sub-committee. Issues
related to democracy and human rights were also discussed with Azerbaijan in the sub-committee for JFS, Human Rights and Democracy in November. The HRDs
were complemented by joint civil society seminars in
 Armenia on anti-discrimination policy and in Georgia on the criminal justice
system and on labour law.

>> Common Security and
Defence Policy (CSDP) cooperation

In November 2012, Georgia was invited to enter into negotiations on a framework participation agreement to govern its
participation in CSDP missions and operations and in December 2012, Moldova signed a framework participation agreement enabling its participation in CSDP
missions and operations. Ukraine’s presence in CSDP missions and discussions on
extending the cooperation continued. Armenia expressed its wish to conclude a
Framework Participation Agreement in order to be able to participate in EU CSDP
missions.

>>
Macroeconomic dialogues

In 2012, macroeconomic dialogues were strengthened with the six EaP countries in line with the
Roadmap in various formats including dedicated Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement (PCA) sub-committee meetings with Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan. These dialogues took into account the on-going EU macro-financial
assistance programmes, linked to IMF packages, in order to help partner
countries address short-term balance-of-payments deficits. Details of operations
financed can be found in the relevant country reports. A second macroeconomic
dialogue with Belarus covering the macroeconomic outlook, fiscal, tax and
monetary policy and structural reforms took place.

>> Implementing the ‘more for more’ principle

In 2012, the new Eastern Partnership Integration and
Cooperation (EaPIC) programme was launched to make additional resources
available to countries that make progress in building deep and sustainable
democracy and in implementing related reform objectives under the ‘more for
more’ principle. The EaPIC programme provided additional funding of EUR 130
million for the period 2012–13 on top of the EUR 1.9 billion already
committed to the EaP countries for the period 2010–13. A first round of country
allocations was announced to benefit Moldova (EUR28 million), Georgia (EUR22 million), and Armenia (EUR15 million). EaPIC contributes to new or existing projects
targeting democratic transformation and institution building, sustainable and
inclusive growth, and economic development.

2.2. Mobility
and other Justice, Freedom and Security Issues

The
EaP has made a clear commitment to strengthening cooperation on justice, freedom
and security and the
EU put forward concrete proposals aimed at boosting political and operational
cooperation with a view to establishing a Common Justice and Home Affairs Space
between the EU and EaP countries. For Ukraine and Moldova in particular, the
Visa Liberalisation Action Plans (VLAPs) proved to be key incentives for
pushing forward reform in the JFS area.

Progress
was made on migration, but the need to set up
modern and effective systems for asylum and international protection
has yet to be addressed in most EaP countries. In the area of border management
  Armenia and FRONTEX signed a working arrangement in February.

At
the same time, reform of the judiciary and the fight against corruption
in the EaP countries continued to be a major concern. Georgia adopted a new data
protection law in December 2011. The law
entered into force in May 2012, but will not apply to the private sector until 1
January 2016.

Progress
was registered also in the area of data protection.
Following ratification by Armenia of the Council of Europe Convention on
Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data,
all EaP countries – members of the Council of Europe – have ratified this
important convention.

Fighting
illegal drugs continued to be high on
the agenda and relevant dialogues took place
in Brussels in April 2012 with Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Cooperation with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
progressed well. In July 2012, Moldova and the EMCDDA signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to structure their cooperation, notably on the exchange of
information on monitoring, preventing and tackling the use of drugs.

>> Mobility Partnerships

Implementation
of the Mobility Partnerships signed with Moldova, Georgia and Armenia proceeded in 2012, with a number of new initiatives approved. In November, the EU and Moldova held a high-level meeting which reviewed the progress made so far and identified areas
for future cooperation. A conference on
the progress of the EU-Armenia Mobility Partnership was held
in Brussels in October. Talks started on a possible Mobility
Partnership with Azerbaijan after it had confirmed its interest, thereby moving
closer to the Roadmap provision in this area.

>> Action Plans on visa liberalisation

Moldova
made substantial progress on the implementation of the VLAP
and the first-phase benchmarks were met, in line with the Roadmap. Under the
VLAPs with Moldova and Ukraine, intensive cooperation and exchange of
information took place. Moldova adopted several important legislative acts
reforming the judiciary and fighting discrimination. The first phase of the VLAP
was completed. Ukraine made progress on implementing the VLAP. It
adopted legislation and policy but needs to increase efforts to meet its first-phase
benchmarks, especially on anti-corruption measures, data protection, combating discrimination
and protecting minorities. A visa dialogue was launched with Georgia in June, in line with the Roadmap. The dialogue on visa liberalisation between the EU and
Georgia aims at examining all the relevant conditions for visa-free travel to
the EU for Georgian citizens, including reform of the judiciary. In the second
half of 2012, work started on the preparation of Georgia’s VLAP. The VLAP was
formally handed to Georgia in early 2013 in line with the Roadmap.

>> Visa facilitation and readmission agreements

Implementation
of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements
between the EU and Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia continued. Negotiations on visa facilitation and readmission
agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan
started in early 2012 and three rounds took place. After the third round, Armenia and the EU initialled both agreements in October and signed the Visa Facilitation
Agreement at the EU-Armenia Cooperation Council meeting on 17 December. In October the Armenian
Government signed a decree abolishing visa requirements for EU citizens by
January 2013. Azerbaijan
held the third round of negotiations in November and negotiations will
continue. The amended EU-Moldova Visa Facilitation Agreement was signed in June
2012 and the amended EU-Ukraine Visa Facilitation Agreement in July 2012. Both
agreements are expected to enter into force in 2013. The work on visa
facilitation is in line with the objectives of the Roadmap which are very
likely to be met. As regards Belarus, the EU reiterated its readiness to launch
negotiations which would enhance people-to-people contacts to the benefit of
the Belarusian population at large; the Belarusian authorities did not reply to
the Commission’s invitation of June 2011 to start negotiations.

>> Application of the Visa Code

During
2012 efforts continued to establish effective local Schengen cooperation
between Schengen consular services of EU Member State embassies in the EaP
partner countries. This should facilitate implementation of the EU Visa Code,
including the obligation to give reasons for a visa refusal, to allow appeals
and to fully use all the possibilities offered by the Code.

2.3.
Comprehensive institution building (CIB) programmes

In 2012, CIB programmes were in place in all EaP countries
except Belarus. They provide targeted assistance to ‘core institutions’
involved in negotiating and implementing the new agreements with the EU set out
in the Roadmap. CIB-driven policy development made significant progress; most
of the institutional reform plans envisaged were adopted. CIB resources (a
total of EUR 167 million over the period 2011–13) complement existing
support for sector reforms and regulatory approximation. In Armenia, for example, a new programme was launched to support DCFTA-related reforms, while in
Ukraine CIB funds for dealing with migration have been merged with a wider
action on integrated border management. In Georgia, part of the additional
EaPIC resources made available in 2012 will be used for a new project on integrated
migration and border management which includes preparatory activities to
accompany the visa dialogue. Partner countries were invited to proactively
engage in coordination, steering and monitoring of the CIB process, in order to
keep it fully in line with the pace of negotiations on the new agreements.

2.4.
Sector cooperation

>> Justice

Justice
sector reform is a key area for advancing good governance and rule of law
commitments of EaP countries which are enshrined in bilateral agreements. Given
the political importance of the reform of the judiciary systems for the EU and the
Eastern partners, justice-related issues were discussed in several political
and technical fora. Large sector programmes in all EaP countries except Belarus provided financial and technical assistance for reforms. Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, which benefited from the EaPIC programme in 2012, used part of the additional ‘more-for-more’
resources to scale up their justice reform programmes, focusing specifically on
human rights, anti-torture measures and upgrading penitentiary conditions in
line with CoE standards. All partners initiated new legislative proposals to
strengthen the independence of the judiciary. Many progressed with amending
their legislation on judges’ appointment and careers, professionalising their
training and boosting work to ensure effective justice. While some countries
have taken major legislative steps, effective implementation is still lacking
in most and needs to be tackled to achieve the Roadmap objectives for autumn
2013.

>> Regional
development and pilot regional development programmes (PRDPs)

The
2009 communication on the Eastern Partnership proposed sharing the experience
of EU cohesion and regional policies with partner countries and helping them
address internal regional socioeconomic disparities, through policy dialogue and
through pilot regional development programmes. Additional funds were provided
for this initiative for 2012.

Intensive
dialogue with the different governments led to the development or
implementation of different programmes in this area in 2012, each specific to
the country’s situation.

In Moldova, the PRDP which was launched in support of the ongoing policy dialogue focuses on
regional statistics, regional planning and project pipelines for three
development regions. In Azerbaijan, policy dialogue with the EU is just
starting but preparatory institution-building activities have been launched. In
  Ukraine, a programme on regional development is being implemented; it
includes a PRDP component (with a call for proposals from local and regional
authorities and a capacity building programme).

In Georgia, the government participated in a round table at the end of November which
re-launched the regional policy dialogue, to be followed by study visits and
seminars. A large sectoral programme on regional development had meanwhile been
launched in 2011 and was under implementation. New follow-up actions in support
of wider ongoing sector reforms were being designed, which will include a PRDP
component.

In Armenia, policy dialogue is starting and preparations were made for a support programme for
2013 which will include a PRDP component.

Belarus is not participating in the PRDPs.

>>
Agriculture, rural development in line with ENPARD

Following
the 2011 joint communication A new response to a changing neighbourhood,
increased emphasis was placed on agriculture and rural development as sectors
conducive to sustainable and inclusive growth. In 2012, a large sectoral
support programme on agriculture was launched in Georgia, in line with the
Roadmap. In Moldova, an existing programme on economic stimulation in rural
areas was extended and scaled up with additional EaPIC resources. Support
programmes on agriculture and rural development were under implementation in Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Ukraine, some elements of rural development policy may be incorporated
into regional development actions under preparation. The EU worked to ensure
that all these actions were in line with the ENPARD approach. This included,
also as envisaged in the EaP Roadmap, the Commission contracting Food and
Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to provide it with an assessment
of the agriculture and rural development sectors in each of the six EaP partner
countries and identify common challenges to be potentially addressed at the
regional level. Simultaneously, to allow the EaP partner countries to give
their opinions on the initiative and to share their experiences and best
practices, in November the multilateral Platform 2, Economic Integration and
Convergence with EU policies, established a multilateral EaP Panel on Agriculture
and Rural Development.

>>
Energy

Throughout
2012, the EaP partner countries aimed, albeit with different emphases, at
gradually entering EU energy markets by strengthening interconnections between
the energy networks and gradually bringing their energy market rules closer to
those of the EU. A common or similar legislative framework and a more integrated energy
network — both targets of the EaP Roadmap — will be mutually beneficial and
will enhance energy security both in the EU and in partner countries. Bilateral
cooperation took various forms such as implementing PCAs, with energy issues
reviewed at institutional meetings, and negotiating Association Agreements
including a DCFTA with Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, plus Memoranda of
Understanding with Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Involving EaP countries
in the Energy Community set out in the EaP Roadmap strongly supported such
integration, pursuing the goal of common energy security. Growing importance
was given to introducing sustainable energy policies following the EU example. The presence of Moldova, Ukraine,
Georgia and Armenia in the Energy Community, although their status differs,
provided an additional instrument to foster progressive integration of the
respective energy markets and helped to achieve the EaP Roadmap goals in this
sector. Georgia expressed its wish to upgrade its status in the
Energy Community. In January 2013, Georgia, currently an observer, applied to
become a fully fledged member of the Energy Community.

The
Neighbourhood Investment Facility supported major investment projects in energy
— both at regional and at country level — in cooperation with European
financial institutions.

One initiative of particular relevance is the
implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. Progress included the first
commercial decision linked to the development of the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas
field, the selection of pipeline transportation options and the conclusion of
an intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkey on the  construction of a gas pipeline across Turkish territory which would help to diversify
energy supplies, an EaP Roadmap goal.

>> Transport

EaP
countries pursued their gradual integration with EU transport system in line
with the 2011 communication The EU and its neighbouring regions: a renewed
approach to transport cooperation. This was taken forward through
regulatory approximation and definition of priority infrastructure connections
under the Eastern Partnership Transport Panel. Concrete deliverables from this
work should be endorsed by the EU and Eastern Partnership Transport Ministers
at their second meeting in autumn 2013. Informal Eastern Partnership transport
dialogue meeting was held in February 2013 to prepare this. Work on the EaP
Roadmap objective of concluding and implementing aviation agreements advanced
well. A Common Aviation Area Agreement was signed with Moldova in June and the first preliminary Joint Committee that oversees the implementation of the
agreement took place in February 2013. Similar first preliminary Joint
Committee as organised with Georgia in September. Negotiations on an aviation agreement
resumed with Ukraine in September and should be concluded in 2013. Negotiations
with Azerbaijan on a Common Aviation Area Agreement were launched in January
2013. Negotiations on a similar agreement with other partner countries could be
launched based on their readiness and expression of interest.

>>
Environment

Cooperation
on the environment in the EaP region proceeded well at regional level. Projects
on waste management and air quality advanced. A new project on greening
economies was launched in October. At bilateral level, the EaP countries took
several steps to improve their environmental legislation (e.g. the water sector
in Moldova) and implement their national environmental strategies (e.g. Ukraine). Partner countries are urged to strengthen their
environmental legislation and administrative capacity, to develop consistent
application of procedures for environmental impact assessment and to pay
particular attention to public participation. Most of the countries supported
civil society and environmental NGOs but to varying degrees. However, their
role still needs to be strengthened. The Regional Environmental Centres for the
Caucasus and in Moldova continued to operate.
Improvement of environmental governance is needed across the region, as are enforcement
of environmental laws and compliance with multilateral environmental agreements,
in order to meet the EaP Roadmap objective of convergence with crucial EU
environmental legislation, on which progress so far is satisfactory.

>> Climate change

The EU
shared knowledge gained from practical implementation of its financial
instruments and provided information on available EU climate assistance
instruments. Close interaction with all partner countries took place in the
assessment of their climate needs as a basis for developing the Clima East
project which was launched at the end of 2012. Partner countries are urged to
build capacity and engage in the new carbon market mechanism following the 18th Session
of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. Partners are also urged to fully implement the Cancun, Durban and Doha agreements and in particular to devise a low-carbon development
strategy.

>> Common Knowledge
and Innovation Space

Cooperation on research, coordination and networking
between stakeholders is essential for the development of a Common Knowledge and
Innovation Space with the EaP countries. Greater efforts are required from the
partner countries to build research capacity and increase collaboration with EU
researchers and research organisations. Their present active participation in
the EU’s Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7), which is fully open for
participation by researchers and research institutions from the partner
countries, is an important factor in reaching this objective. It is worth
mentioning that Ukraine is among the top ten of the most active
(non-associated) third countries participating in FP7. The EaP countries so far
have had 318 participations in 179 FP7 projects amounting to more than EUR 500
million of EU contribution, in areas such as environment, transport, health,
ICT, social sciences and humanities. The call for proposals on international
cooperation published in July 2012 included activities specifically targeted to
the EaP countries. The successful establishment, with EU support, of the EaP
Regulators Network in September was a major step in encouraging closer
cooperation, starting to exchange best practice and taking advantage of the EaP
cooperation process in electronic communications regulation.

>>
Participation in EU programmes and agencies

Throughout the year,
dialogue continued with partner countries to identify their key interests with
regard to participation in EU programmes and agencies on the basis of partners’
first indicative priority lists drafted in 2011. Enhanced policy dialogue took
place with each country on the conditions of such participation and future
implications in terms of sector cooperation and regulatory approximation. The EEAS held information meetings in Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine in 2012 and in Armenia and Georgia in early 2013 on the general approach to participation in programmes and agencies. The process of negotiating protocols allowing EaP countries to
participate in EU programmes open to them continued. In December 2012, in line with the EaP Roadmap, the EU and
 Armenia signed a protocol to the PCA on Armenia’s participation in EU
programmes. Negotiations with Azerbaijan and Georgia on similar protocols
started.[2] Moldova was associated to the FP7 from January 2012. Cooperation between EU agencies and the EaP
countries continued in 2012. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and
Drug Addiction signed a MoU with Moldova in July 2012[3] strengthening
cooperation and information exchange. Following
cooperation between Ukraine and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control, health security support was provided after an outbreak of measles in Western Ukraine in early 2012. A Cooperation Agreement between CEPOL and Moldova was signed in December. The EU launched an assistance project
that will allow preparatory measures to be supported from early 2013, facilitating
cooperation between the EU agencies and the partner countries and with a
view to increasing their participation in line with the EaP Roadmap. The total
budget for this initiative is EUR 3.7 million, equally divided between the Eastern
and Southern neighbourhoods.

3.         STRENGTHENING MULTILATERAL COOPERATION

All four EaP multilateral thematic platforms met twice in
2012 to assist partners with pursuing their reforms. Active contributions,
support and expertise for seminars and training programmes were offered by
partner countries, EU Member States, EU institutions, international organisations
and the EaP Civil Society Forum. Other international organisations and international
financing institutions also provided assistance via various channels.

3.1.
Democracy, good governance and stability

In 2012, Platform 1,
which aims at promoting democratic principles, good governance and stability by
improving key sectors of governance, focused mainly on work on public
administration reform, asylum and migration, improving the functioning of the
judiciary, the fight against corruption, CSDP and the safe management of State
borders. The Platform’s activities were supported by the Council of Europe
(CoE) under a CoE facility covering activities on electoral standards, judicial
reform, good governance, the fight against corruption and cooperation against
cybercrime. The European Commission began its support for the work of the CoE
by providing leadership and expertise regarding the EU legal framework on the
fight against corruption and improved reform of justice.

There was a noticeable increase
in active engagement on the part of EU Member States in the implementation of
the multilateral part of the EaP Roadmap objectives in various areas of the
Platform.

In the field of integrated border management (IBM), the EaP IBM
Panel met twice in 2012, in Riga and Brussels. In line with the EaP
Roadmap, the meetings continued to take stock of implementation of the relevant
flagship initiative in 2012. Continued discussions on jointly operated crossing
points, including in relation to the fight against illegal migration, took
place at these meetings. New training on the fight against trafficking of human
beings was added to the IBM strategies capacity-building programmes run by
ICMPD. In December, the Eastern
Partnership Police Cooperation Programme (EUR 5 million) was approved,
aimed at increasing police cooperation on issues related to cross-border crime
between EU and EaP countries and among EaP countries.

The Panel on the fight against corruption continued working with
the support of the CoE’s EaP Facility. The Panel met in Kiev in March, focusing
on good practice in designing, implementing and monitoring anti-corruption
policies. The Commission expressed its willingness to lead the expert work of
the Panel and prepared a draft Work Plan to be adopted by the Platform in the
near future. Good expert cooperation continued with the EaP Civil Society Forum.

The Panel on
Improved Functioning of the Judiciary agreed on a separate Work Plan for
2012–13 in order to reinforce the bilateral work undertaken to secure greater
judicial independence, effectiveness and impartiality of justice. The Panel
tackled the facilitation of civil and criminal legal assistance through
bilingual forms, in close cooperation with the Polish Ministry of Justice. A
seminar on victim protection and support took place in January 2013 in Brussels. Meanwhile, the CoE continued to implement the justice component of its EaP
Facility and published two studies. The recommendations arising from these
studies should be taken into account by the EaP countries.

A number of initiatives are being
implemented to accompany the policy dialogue held in Platform 1. The Council
of Europe Facility East (EUR 4 million) supporting enhanced reform
processes in the six partner countries through a multilateral approach and
aiming to bring them closer to Council of Europe and EU standards on electoral
systems, judiciary reform, cybercrime, and anti-corruption measures continued to
be implemented. The Eastern Partnership Labour Mobility study on
current and potential costs and benefits of labour migration from the EaP
countries to the EU also continued.

The second and third
meetings of the Panel on Public Administration Reform took place in Tbilisi in June and in Chisinau in December. The Panel started monitoring its six-pillar
Work Plan implementation. Thanks to several EU Member States and partner
countries, work successfully advanced in a number of areas towards achieving
the EaP Roadmap objective. The Panel was to review the implementation of the
Work Plan at its next meeting in advance of the Vilnius Summit.

The new EaP Panel on migration and
asylum started implementing its work programme by
exchanging best practice in two main areas: circular migration in connection with
skills recognition (and the role of employment agencies), and standards for refugee
status determination procedures. This should help to achieve the EaP Roadmap
objective of improving asylum and migration systems. The second and third Panel
meetings were held in Tbilisi in May and in Chisinau in October.

Cooperation on the CSDP
saw a leap forward, in line with the EaP Roadmap. A Swedish-Polish high-level strategy
course, organised with the support of the EaP Academy of Public Administration
and the Folke Bernadotte Academy, bringing the partner countries together in a
subsequent Eastern Partnership Workshop on CSDP, proved the high degree of interest
among all six partner countries in engaging in regular multilateral
consultations on the CSDP. The Platform asked the European External Action
Service (EEAS) to draft terms of reference for the CSDP Panel, due to start
its work during 2013, thereby meeting the specific EaP Roadmap objective well
in advance of the Vilnius Summit.

The EEAS and the Commission supported the Polish-French project on Cooperation between Ombudsmen
(2009–2013) which should help to enhance ombudsman institutions in partner countries
as envisaged in the EaP Roadmap. Two events were held in 2012 in Paris and Warsaw, focusing on discrimination and promotion of equality especially in the
areas of children’s right to protection, ombudsman activities, the judiciary, and
the labour rights of older people and people with disabilities.

3.2. Economic
integration and convergence with EU sector policies

A. Areas of work
covered by the Platform

The seventh and eighth
meetings of Platform 2 in May and November addressed cooperation in the field
of information and telecommunication technologies, enhanced cooperation on
taxation and public finance and cooperation in the field of agriculture, rural
development, environment, transport and SMEs. The establishment of a structured
dialogue on employment and social policies remains an open issue.

B. Areas of work covered
by Panels

Concerning Trade and
Trade-related Regulatory Cooperation linked to DCFTAs, the 11th Trade
Panel was held in June. EU law and rules in the field of market
surveillance and standardisation were presented to all partner countries, who in
turn gave an overview of their national systems of technical regulations,
standardisation, conformity assessment and market surveillance. The meeting and
subsequent specialist seminars significantly contributed to the EaP Roadmap
objective of bringing partner countries’ legislation closer to that of the EU
by exchanging best practice and providing information. A number of
recommendations were produced that will make it easier for partner countries to
meet EU and international requirements for legal and systemic solutions in e
number of areas, thereby moving closer to achieving the EaP Roadmap objectives.

In the SME Panel, a
seminar on ‘SME Policy Assessment’ was held in Kiev in April, at which the main
areas needing further improvement were identified. The third SME Panel
meeting in October launched the SME Policy Index, finalising a two-year
project combining policy evaluation with regional SME policy dialogue. The SME
Policy Assessment and its operational guidance will help partner countries to structure
their policy reform agenda to identify challenges and opportunities for SMEs
and to remove policy barriers limiting SME growth to create an enabling
environment. It will also assist in bringing their respective legislation in
line with EU law – a provision of the EaP Roadmap.

The most recent meeting of
the Transport Panel, in July, explored closer cooperation in all
transport modes. In maritime transport, partner countries bordering the Black Sea were invited to signal their interest in closer cooperation with the SafeSeaNet
vessel traffic monitoring system. This will be taken forward in part by a new
regional technical assistance project, TRACECA-Maritime Safety and Security II,
agreed in December. In early 2013, a rail policy workshop will be held to share
best practice and explore further options for rail cooperation. On aviation
issues, discussions in the Transport Panel focused on how the ongoing technical
assistance projects could best be deployed in modernising the partner countries’
air traffic management systems. Two regional technical assistance projects on
safety and security in the civil aviation sector, under the TRACECA umbrella,
deal with these issues. The European Aviation Safety Agency is involved in all
aviation safety aspects of these projects. On transport connections, the EU and
partner countries discussed a draft regional transport network and priority
projects to help connect partner countries with the EU’s transport network.
This should support the setting up of a regional transport network, which is an
EaP Roadmap objective.

In
2012, the Panel on environment and climate change promoted dialogue on
environmental governance, including opportunities for the green economy, in particular
following up the Rio+20 Summit. A seminar on' Green economy in the Eastern
Partnership partner countries after Rio+20Conference' took place in October. The
Panel provided a forum for exchanging best practice in reducing carbon
emissions and emissions trading. The findings and recommendations of this Panel
fed into the design of new regional cooperation projects, such as EaP-GREEN (Greening Economies in the Eastern Neighbourhood) and Clima East, thereby generating further
progress in the implementation of the EaP Roadmap objectives. Other regional
projects facilitated cooperation on mitigation and adaptation to climate
change. To meet the EaP
Roadmap objectives by the end of 2013, partner countries will need to give clear
priority to measures to harmonising their rules with the EU acquis and fully
incorporate environmental and climate change objectives into national
development and reform strategies. On the EU side, all appropriate bilateral
and multilateral fora and financial instruments will be used to support partner
countries in this endeavour and to support the development of national emission
trading systems.

Regional
cooperation on the environment in the EaP region proceeded satisfactorily. The
project on waste management will end in 2014 and has produced waste management
strategies in pilot regions which are expected to serve as models for national
strategies in the respective countries. The project on air quality has also advanced
with special support for implementing the EU Directive on Integrated Pollution
Prevention and Control (IPPC) and the UNECE Convention on Long-Range
Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). The contract for a new project on
greening national economies in the Eastern neighbourhood was signed in December
and its implementation started on 1 January 2013. Steps forward were made
in the water sector, where countries’ commitment to implementing water
management policies more in line with the EU Water Framework Directive has been
tangible. In this light, a new project aimed at improving partner countries’
ability to perform marine environmental monitoring following the principles of the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive was signed in December and launched in
January 2013. Partner countries that have not yet signed the agreement with the
Food and Agriculture Organisation are urged to do so to confirm their
participation in the project to tackle hazardous substances, including obsolete
pesticides, launched in April 2012. The EaP countries are all engaged in the
project carried out by the European Environmental Agency to develop a Shared
Environmental Information System (SEIS) together with the partner countries
from the ENP South and with Russia.

A new Panel on
Agriculture and Rural Development was set up under Platform 2. The Panel will
foster exchanges of experience and best practice in sustainable development of
agriculture and rural areas in the EU and EaP countries; promote the ENPARD
approach and increase synergies between national and regional initiatives.

C. Conferences, seminars
and other activities

In the field of labour market and social policies, a
study is ongoing to assess the current and potential costs and benefits of
labour migration from the EaP countries to the EU. A seminar was held on the
reform and modernisation of social protection, focusing on the role of social
protection for activation and transition in the labour market; EU Member States
shared best practice with partner countries, thereby moving further on the EaP
Roadmap. On enhanced cooperation in the field of taxation and public finance,
a seminar on approximation of excise taxation policies was held in May to
foster information exchange and advance towards meeting Roadmap objectives, with
a special focus on the fight against cigarette smuggling. In the area of customs
and trade facilitation, a seminar on Authorised Economic Operators (AEO)
was held in Poland in September 2012 with the objective of exchanging
information on the EU's and partner countries' AEO systems and discussing the
perspectives for convergence. Another seminar on customs representation took
place in Brussels in November 2012 with the aim of fostering convergence of
legislation and procedures in this area.

The EaP Regulators
Network for electronic communication was officially launched at a meeting
in September. Technical
assistance for Electronic Communications Regulators of the EaP countries (EUR 1
million), is helping EaP countries to gain a better understanding of and make better
decisions on various regulatory issues with regard to electronic communications
and the information society.

A workshop on improving e-Infrastructures in EaP countries
was held in Chisinau in December and focused on the needs of large-scale
research activities.

3.3. Energy
security

As
indicated in the EaP Roadmap, activities in 2012–13 will focus on further integration
of energy markets with the EU market through comprehensive energy market
reforms and improved energy infrastructure and interconnections. Efforts will
continue to be made to promote energy efficiency and the use of renewables to
attain the goals set out in the Roadmap. To pursue cooperation in these areas,
a workshop on regulatory energy convergence was jointly held with the European energy
regulators in Vienna in May. The workshop allowed a thorough discussion of the
role and power of energy regulators in partner countries and an assessment of
future developments; it should support work on establishing a regulatory and
legislative framework — an EaP Roadmap objective. The work of the platform is
supported by the INOGATE programme.

In the
area of energy infrastructure, the seventh meeting in June 2012 of Platform 3,
which deals with energy security, saw presentations on the latest developments
in energy infrastructure in partner countries and in the EU, including a
presentation on the ‘energy infrastructure package’. The eighth meeting of the
Platform was held in November and focused on energy efficiency in the EU and in
partner countries. The new EU Energy Efficiency Directive was presented,
followed by presentations and round table discussions on the implementation of
energy efficiency initiatives in partner countries.

Another
area of cooperation is the promotion of a stronger nuclear safety culture developing
a legally binding regulatory framework in line with international treaties and
conventions. One of the objectives is that partner countries concerned finalise
‘nuclear stress tests’ as soon as possible. Ukraine completed nuclear stress
tests in 2012 and Armenia should finalise the Medzamor Nuclear Power Plant
stress tests at the beginning of 2013, later than expected in the Roadmap but
still well before the Vilnius Summit.

3.4. Contacts
between people

Platform 4 supports
interaction between EU and partner countries’ citizens, focusing in particular
on students, teachers, researchers, young people, artists and cultural professionals.
In 2012, this work continued to be organised in a number of EU international
cooperation programmes, in the areas of higher education, youth, culture
and research. The additional budget available for Eastern Partnership countries
under Erasmus Mundus in 2012 enabled an increase in the following areas
that allowed all of the EaP Roadmap objectives to be met: first, the number of
partnerships financed, with greater mobility as a result; second, the number of
scholarships to participate in Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters courses. The budget
allowed 57 additional scholarships to be awarded to candidates from EaP
countries. Moreover, this higher number is to be maintained in 2013, allowing
for the selection of similar numbers of partnerships and scholarships.

In 2012 EUR 29 million were
available for the Eastern Partnership countries under Tempus in 2012,
more than twice as much as in 2011 (EUR11.4 million). This enabled the EaP Roadmap
objectives to be met, with the selection of 30 new Tempus projects involving
the EaP universities, compared with 16 the previous year. A seminar on reform
strategies in vocational education and training (VET) held just after
the second meeting of Platform 4 in November 2012 was the occasion to present a
cross-country panorama of trends and priorities in VET policy reform and to discuss
opportunities and challenges for future regional cooperation on VET. The
Central Support Service, which manages the eTwinning platform, created a
new web portal (eTwinning Plus) for EaP schools, thereby fulfilling the
objective set in the EaP Roadmap. The platform will be available online for EaP
schools from 2013.

In March 2012, about
100 young people, youth workers and youth policy makers were shown the
opportunities offered by the EaP Youth Window at the Platform 4 Youth Event in Yerevan. The event helped to make potential beneficiaries aware of policy priorities and
new funding opportunities, as envisaged in the EaP Roadmap. The Commission has
substantially increased funding to support projects with EaP countries as part
of the Youth in Action Programme under the so-called Eastern Partnership
Youth Window, which has now EUR 29 million at its disposal, in
addition to the EUR 2.5 million received in 2011. In 2012 and 2013, the
EaP Youth Window will finance 1 500 additional projects involving about 21 000
young people and youth workers from Youth in Action and EaP countries in youth
exchanges, European Voluntary Service, and training and networking activities
for youth workers, thereby achieving the objectives of the Roadmap in this
field.

The project Capacity building in
the youth sector (EUR 3 million), signed in December 2012, aims to
support and strengthen the response of the EaP countries to the needs of young
people through regional cooperation between policy institutions, youth organisations,
youth workers and young people.

The EaP Culture
Programme supported the development of local cultural policies. It involved
capacity building in institutions, monitoring, coaching and coordination of
projects, and collection and dissemination of results. The Regional Monitoring
and Capacity Building Unit, which began work in 2011, held the first regional
conference for the EaP Culture Programme in October in Tbilisi, where
participants agreed on more effective cooperation between all stakeholders. In
the context of policy dialogue, an expert seminar on cultural policy was
held in September 2012 in Brussels. The main objective of the event was to
prepare for the high-level ministerial conference on culture to be held in summer
2013 according to the work programme for Platform 4.

In the field of research and innovation, all Eastern partners
continued to participate actively in FP7, as planned in the EaP Roadmap.
Participation by researchers and research organisations in FP7 continued to
increase, notably in the Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange
Scheme and in the second European Research Area-wide call, both of which in
part target the EaP region. Following the conclusion of an MoU with the EU, Moldova is now formally associated with FP7. All EaP countries have appointed FP7 contacts
for the Marie Curie actions. Armenia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine appointed legal and financial contacts for FP7. A dedicated Panel on Research and Innovation
under the current EaP platform IV "Contacts between people" was
initiated and will be launched in 2013. It will
notably contribute to improving coordination between EU and EaP countries’
policies and programmes by sharing information and experiences, as well as the
development of joint activities. The dialogue and the
concrete activities organised in the framework of the Panel will build-up on
the achievements and experiences developed through the FP7 programme and
bilateral cooperation programmes established between EU Member States and EaP
countries. Two panel meetings will be organised in
2013, including one co-located with the planned EU Presidency Conference to be
organised by Lithuania (second semester 2013) focused on EU-EaP countries
cooperation on Science, Technology and Innovation.

Work on information
and communication technologies (ICT) focused on mapping stakeholders,
identifying research potential and priorities, organising training and
assistance and enhancing ICT policy dialogue. Additionally, work continued on
improving high-speed connectivity with EaP countries under the Black Sea interconnectivity initiative.

3.5 Assessment
of flagship initiatives

>> Flagship
initiative on integrated border management (IBM)

The
activities of the IBM flagship initiative, which aims to support exchanges of good
practice among EU and EaP countries, training and capacity building, and to
fund pilot projects, continued. The training project — with a budget of EUR 2
million — was extended to the end of June 2013 to focus on capacity building, the
exchange of best practice and improved cooperation. With over 800 officers
trained so far, the project surpassed the EaP Roadmap target of 700 people trained.
The implementation of two pilot projects on the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ borders
between Belarus and Ukraine and the Ninotsminda-Bavra border crossing point
between Georgia and Armenia started at the end of 2012. Two further projects
(on the pre-arrival exchange of customs information between Belarus and Ukraine
and on the Bagratashen-Sadakhlo border crossing point between Georgia and
Armenia) were approved in 2012 and four proposals (two on the border between
Moldova and Ukraine, one on the Georgian-Azeri border and one on the
Belarus-Ukrainian border) were submitted for funding under the 2013 budget.
These projects help to reach the EaP Roadmap target of increased effectiveness and security at border
crossings and improve the overall effectiveness of the border agencies and
customs officers of the partner countries.

>> Flagship
initiative on prevention, preparedness and response to natural and man-made disasters
(PPRD-East)

The PPRD-East flagship initiative helped build up the
participating countries’ capacity for disaster prevention, preparedness and
response at local, national and regional levels. Work advanced on an electronic
regional risk atlas — an EaP Roadmap goal — for which a needs analysis and
an assessment of available technology in the region was completed. Countries
are encouraged to share all data necessary for the development of the
electronic regional risk atlas. EU civil protection ‘info days’ were held in
all partner countries, as were information exchange sessions with the EU
Monitoring and Information Centre. Work on analyses of the regulatory and
institutional frameworks was under way in all countries with the aim of
strengthening capabilities in each country. A communication and awareness strategy
was developed to serve as a basis for preparedness and response for all
stakeholders.

>> Flagship initiative
on small and medium-sized enterprises

The SME flagship initiative continued its work targeting the macro and micro level. Overall,
the business environment improved in all EaP countries as can be seen in their improved
rankings in the relevant annual reports of the World Bank/International Finance
Corporation. Progress was achieved within all three components of the flagship,
namely:

· 
Small business support programmes: implemented by the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with EU funding, the Business
Advisory Services and the Enterprise Growth Programme have so far provided
individual technical assistance to more than 500 SMEs, with the emphasis on SME’s
competitiveness and consolidation of local business consultancy.

· 
East-Invest. So far, more than 200 SMEs have been trained
on EU rules and internationalisation and 15 business associations are being
supported through twinning arrangements with business support organisations
from the EU. In 2012, more than 50 EaP SMEs participated in trade fairs in France, Italy and Spain —mostly related to agri-food and wine, one of the main competitive
industries in the EaP countries.

· 
SME Finance Facility. A successful risk-sharing cushion was
designed to raise loans for SMEs. So far, almost the entire available budget
has been contracted by the participating partners (the European Investment Bank,
EBRD and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)), through the intermediary of
local financial institutions, to support lending to SMEs (guarantees schemes
and interest-free loan co-financing).

Future work within the SME flagship initiative should focus
on practical implementation.

>> Flagship initiative to promote good
environmental governance

The environmental governance flagship initiative was mainly implemented
through the ‘shared environmental information system’ programme. Although the
programme progressed well, further strengthening of administrative and
technical capacity, including the capacity to produce environment statistics to
according to EU and international standards, in partner countries is needed for
full implementation. The European Environment Agency played a pivotal
coordinating role in this programme by seeking synergies with regional and
international bodies in the neighbourhood and in Russia that deal with
environmental information gathering and management (the UN Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE), the Black Sea Commission, etc).

>>Flagship
initiative on regional electricity markets, energy efficiency and renewable energy
sources

Further
progress has been achieved through the implementation of the flagship initiative
on regional electricity markets, energy efficiency and renewable energy
sources. This initiative focused on improving integration of the
electricity grid and addressing security of energy supply via encouraging
sustainable exploitation of energy. The regional
cooperation programme INOGATE contributed to this initiative by combining
regional activities with an expert facility that responds to country-specific
requests in priority areas of the energy policy dialogue and provided EUR 46
million in assistance in the period 2010–12.

800
stakeholders benefited directly or indirectly from
the rapid ad hoc assistance facility created under INOGATE to support energy
market convergence and sustainable energy.  Some 160
representatives of energy regulators and ministries
from the INOGATE partner countries were trained on issues such as renewable
energy regulation, regulatory implications of district heating, sustainable
energy regulation, vulnerable customers and social aspects of pricing and
energy efficiency policies linked to sustainable energy regulations. Support
has also been provided on energy efficiency both through an INOGATE project on energy savings in the building sector and a project of EUR 6.5 million providing
support to the extension of the Covenant of Mayors in the Eastern
Partnership region.

Extending
the Covenant of Mayors[4]
to partner countries is a key activity under this flagship initiative. Sixty-one
cities in partner countries have so far signed up to the Covenant of Majors and
branch offices have been established in Lviv (Ukraine) and Tbilisi (Georgia). Activities
under the Covenant contributed at local level to reforms in the energy sector,
the use of renewables, energy efficiency campaigns and the diversification of
energy sources — which are all EaP Roadmap objectives.

3.6 Cooperation with International Financial
Institutions

The
EIB and EBRD were represented at the Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers
meeting on 23 July 2012, and also participated in meetings of the multilateral
Platform on Economic Integration and Convergence with EU policies and the
Platform on Energy Security.

The
Activities financed under the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
flagship initiative (total budget of around EUR 34 million for 2010-2013)
continued to support SMEs in the EaP countries and to provide an external
stimulus to growth and employment. The SMEs Funding Facility Project, involving
the EIB/EBRD/KfW, is provided by the EU as a risk-sharing cushion to leverage
loans for SMEs from European financial institutions through the intermediary of
local financial institutions. The Enterprise Growth Programme (EGP) and
Business Advisory Services (BAS) are technical assistance programmes,
implemented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and
funded by the EU (€10 million for the period from 2010 to 2014). A further
tranche of €5,3 million was released in 2012. More than 500 SMEs received
tailored technical assistance through the EBRD Small Business Programmes EGP
and Business Advisory Services (formerly known as TAM/BAS).

The
Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF) financed 6 projects in the sectors
covered by its strategic orientations for a total of €37,4 million and an
expected cofinancing from IFIs (mainly EIB, EBRD) of over €950 million. The EaP Technical Assistance (TA) Trust
Fund, an EIB supported financial vehicle, created in 2012 to provide TA support
and mobilize investments financing under the EPF (Eastern Partners Facility) contributed to the preparation of initiatives in the field of transport,
environment, municipal development and private equity/micro finance, thus
replicating similar projects are already ongoing in the ENP South region.

3.6 Relations
with other stakeholders

>> Euronest Parliamentary
Assembly

The Euronest
Parliamentary Assembly held its second ordinary session in Baku in April. It
adopted four resolutions: on challenges for democracy in EaP countries and the
EU, on strengthening civil society, on trade agreements with EaP countries and
on energy security. The Euronest also adopted a resolution on the situation of
Yulia Tymoshenko. The resolutions call on governments to accelerate the
advancement of the EaP agenda in these fields.

>> Conference of Regional and Local Authorities of
the EaP (CORLEAP)

The CORLEAP Bureau met
in May and adopted an Action Plan (2012–13). The annual meeting of CORLEAP
co-chaired by the President of the Committee of the Regions and the Mayor of
Chisinau took place in Moldova in September and agreed on a set of priorities
for 2013: public administration reform, fiscal decentralisation and territorial
cooperation.

>> Civil Society Forum (CSF)

The CSF continued to be
involved in implementing the EaP, by contributing to numerous EaP panels and
the four EaP platforms, in which it obtained permanent participant status. CSF
representatives participated in the EaP Foreign Ministers Meeting in July and
outlined the following Forum's priorities for the upcoming months: free and
fair elections, freedom of media and counteracting corruption. In September
2012, a permanent secretariat of the CSF Steering Committee has been officially
established to coordinate Forum’s activities. The EU is providing an
operational grant to support the functioning of the secretariat.

The EU has also
increased its support to the CSF national platforms through the Neighbourhood
Civil Society Facility.

>> Information and coordination group

Finally, the informal
EaP information and coordination group met for the third time in November,
bringing together donor countries, international financial institutions and
regional players. Members of the group were briefed on the state of play on the
EaP and discussed support to civil society in the EaP region, as well as
programming of their assistance in the years ahead.

[1] Throughout this document, ‘Moldova’ refers to the Republic of Moldova.

[2] Protocols allowing Moldova and Ukraine to participate in EU
programmes entered into force in 2011.

[3] A similar MoU with Ukraine was signed in 2010.

[4] www.eumayors.eu.