# EUR-Lex - 52015SC0076 - EN

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# 52015SC0076

**JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy Eastern Partnership Implementation Report Accompanying the document JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2014 /* SWD/2015/0076 final */**

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1.         INTRODUCTION

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the EU and
six eastern European partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia,
the Republic of Moldova (hereinafter referred to as ‘Moldova’) and Ukraine)
that aims to bring these countries closer to the EU. The Eastern Partnership
builds on existing bilateral relations between the EU and its partner countries
and covers the eastern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). It
follows two parallel and mutually reinforcing tracks: bilateral and
multilateral. The bilateral dimension aims to foster closer bilateral relations
between the EU and each eastern partner country, while the multilateral
dimension provides a forum for dialogue and exchange, through thematic
platforms and flagship initiatives. The Eastern Partnership is broad-based and
involves not only governments, but also civil society and other parties
concerned. This report provides information on the progress made in 2014.

The Eastern Partnership made significant progress in 2014. The new
Association Agreements signed with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are already
being provisionally applied. For Georgia and Moldova, provisional application
already includes the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), while for
Ukraine provisional application of this part of the agreement has been
postponed until the end of 2015. The AA/DCFTAs involve ambitious political,
economic and social reform agendas, drawing the eastern partner countries
concerned closer to the EU.

Against the background of the Ukrainian political crisis, the EU
launched an unprecedented programme of support to help Ukraine stabilise its
economy, assist with transition, encourage political, judicial and economic
reforms and support inclusive development. The EU has also offered various
forms of support to Moldova and Georgia, to help these countries cope with the
pressure that has been exerted on them following their decision to sign the
Association Agreements.

Further progress has been made towards visa liberalisation for
short-term travel. The aim is for citizens in eastern partner countries to
benefit from mobility within a secure, well-managed environment. Visa-free
travel to the EU has been possible from Moldova since the end of April, and
Georgia and Ukraine are working to implement their Visa Liberalisation Action
Plans. Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements are being negotiated with
Belarus.

Over the past year, EU institutions, EU Member States, the eastern
partner countries and other parties involved have continued to work to increase
the visibility of the Eastern Partnership and to make individuals, businesses
and society as a whole more aware of the benefits it can bring.

Eastern partner countries have been pursuing the agreed reforms in
preparation for the 2015 EaP Summit in Riga, which will review the
implementation of the countries’ commitments and the progress they have
achieved.

2.         DEEPER
BILATERAL ENGAGEMENT

2.1.      Political association and economic integration

Bilateral contractual relations

The Association Agreements, including Deep and Comprehensive
Free Trade Areas (AA/DCFTAs) offer advanced integration with the EU in a wide
variety of areas. The Association Agreements provide a blueprint for partner
countries to develop good governance, improve justice and strengthen the rule
of law, while offering possibilities for integration ranging from political
association and enhanced cooperation in foreign and security policy to close
economic integration through a deep and comprehensive free trade area. The DCFTA
goes beyond a classical free trade area. It concerns not only the
liberalisation of trade in goods (by lifting customs duties and
abolishing trade quotas) and services, but also has broad provisions on the
approximation of partner countries’ legislation with the trade-related EU
acquis.

After intensive high-level dialogue at the beginning of the year,
and against the background of the illegal annexation of Crimea and the crisis
in the east of the country, on 21 March 2014 Ukraine and the EU signed
the political chapters of the Association Agreement. The remaining chapters
were signed on 27 June 2014. After simultaneous ratification by both the
European Parliament and the Verhovna Rada on 16 September 2014, the
agreement provisionally took effect from 1 November, except for the DCFTA part,
which is postponed until the end of 2015. 27 June 2014 also marked the
signature of Moldova's and Georgia’s AA/DCFTAs with the
EU. After swift ratification by Moldova on 2 July 2014 and Georgia on 18
July 2014, both agreements provisionally took effect from 1 September 2014. The
first EU-Georgia Association Council under the Association Agreement was held
on 17 November 2014 to supervise implementation of the Agreement.

The EU and Armenia worked on further developing and
strengthening comprehensive cooperation where this is compatible with Armenia’s
future obligations under the Eurasian Economic Union. To this end, a ‘scoping
exercise’ was launched in November to identify the legal basis for future
EU-Armenia relations. Political dialogue between the EU and Azerbaijan
in 2014 was intense up until October, when Azerbaijan decided to postpone a
number of meetings under the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The EU is
looking to continue developing its ties with Azerbaijan under a Strategic
Modernisation Partnership. The EU continued its policy of critical engagement
towards Belarus. This includes cooperation through the multilateral
track of the Eastern Partnership and technical dialogues on specific topics of
mutual interest, as well as support for civil society and the Belarusian
population in general. At the same time, the restrictive measures with regard
to Belarus remain in force.

Human rights dialogues

The human rights dialogues with the eastern partner countries cover
the signing, ratification and implementation of international human rights
instruments, signing up to international human rights procedures and
mechanisms, combating torture, children’s rights, women’s rights, freedom of expression,
the role of civil society and eliminating all forms of discrimination. The EU
held human rights dialogues with Moldova in April, with Georgia
in June and with Armenia in December. The annual human rights experts meeting with Moldova took place in Chişinău in November,
with the involvement of civil society organisations. Human rights were
discussed in the justice, freedom and security Sub-committee with Ukraine in
July in Brussels. The postponed 2013 meeting of the justice,
freedom, security and human rights Sub-committee with Azerbaijan took
place in February 2014 and Azerbaijan decided to
postpone the 2014 meeting until early spring 2015. The human rights dialogues were
complemented by joint civil society
seminars in Armenia on anti-discrimination policy
and in Georgia on the criminal justice system and labour law, and a Technical Assistance and Information
Exchange (TAIEX) workshop in Moldova in June on the deinstitutionalisation of
children with disabilities.

Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)

Bilateral and multilateral cooperation with eastern partner
countries in the area of common security and defence policy intensified
remarkably. The EU and some of the eastern partners started regular bilateral
staff-to-staff consultations. Ukraine took part in the European Union Naval
Force Somalia (‘Operation Atalanta’) early in 2014, providing a frigate for the
operation, and Georgia and Moldova took part for the first time in CSDP
operations. Georgia and Moldova both took part in the European Union Training
Mission in Mali and Georgia contributed one infantry company to EUFOR RCA
(contributing 156 troops, making it the second largest contributor to the
operation).

Economic trends and macro-financial assistance

In 2014 the
eastern Neighbourhood was hit hard by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The conflict had large direct and indirect effects on the region’s economic and
political landscape, on top of the existing internal and external macroeconomic
imbalances building up over the years in many of its countries. As a result of
the deep recession in Ukraine and the significant slowdown of economic activity
in Azerbaijan and Moldova, the average GDP growth in Eastern Partnership
countries is expected to more than halve in 2014 to only 1.1% from 3.4% in
2013. Georgia deviated from the downward pattern, benefitting not only from
expansionary fiscal policies but also its low exposure to Russia, which was
reduced after the conflict in 2008.

In 2014 the EU made a total of EUR 1.36 billion available in loans
under its macro-financial assistance (MFA)[1]
instrument. This entire amount went to Ukraine under two MFA programmes
to stabilise its economy and complement financial assistance provided by other
international donors, chiefly the IMF. The first MFA programme, worth EUR 610
million, was based on two legislative decisions, one dating from 2002 and the
other from 2010. In addition, the EU reacted immediately to the economic crisis
in Ukraine with a new MFA programme of up to EUR 1 billion in loans. The programme
was approved by emergency procedure in April and entered into force in May. In
2014 the EU disbursed EUR 360 million under the first MFA programme (EUR 100
million in May and EUR 260 million in November) and disbursed the full amount
under the second MFA programme in two equal tranches of EUR 500 million in July
and December. The final tranche of the first programme is tentatively scheduled
for the first quarter of 2015. It will depend on Ukraine successfully
implementing the policy conditions attached to the programme and having a
satisfactory track record on its IMF programme. As the economic crisis in
Ukraine was much deeper than initially expected, leading to an increase in
external financing needs, in September the Ukrainian authorities requested a
new MFA programme of EUR 2 billion from the Commission.

Towards the end of 2014, the EU and the Georgian authorities
signed a memorandum of understanding for MFA assistance worth EUR 46 million
(half in grants and half in loans) approved by Decision of the European
Parliament and of the Council in 2013. The memorandum of understanding was
submitted to the Georgian Parliament for ratification and the disbursements
under this programme are planned to take place in 2015.

Armenia requested an MFA programme in 2013, and in February 2014 the
Armenian authorities renewed their call for financial assistance. After
a comprehensive assessment of the country’s economic situation, the EU
concluded that Armenia’s external financing needs did not justify a proposal
for an MFA programme.

Macroeconomic dialogue

The EU continued to strengthen macroeconomic dialogue with its
eastern neighbours in 2014, holding macroeconomic dialogues with Azerbaijan and
Moldova in June and with Armenia in November. As Belarus does not have a Partnership
and Association Agreement with the EU, the EU and Belarus hold annual technical
dialogue on economic and financial issues. The macroeconomic dialogues with
Georgia and Ukraine were postponed until 2015.

Financial cooperation

Financial assistance
under the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) for 2014-17 will focus on a
number of priority sectors, as outlined in each country’s multi-annual
programming document and the equivalent documents for regional cooperation and
for initiatives open to all Neighbourhood partners.[2] Support for the
implementation of agreements with the EU is streamlined in bilateral and
multi-country assistance programmes. Special attention is devoted to
reinforcing the capacity of national institutions and to developing legislation
and practices in line with the EU experience, the requirements of the EU single
market, and EU standards for mobility and border management.

The ‘umbrella programme’ is an incentive-based mechanism
built into the European Neighbourhood Instrument. It provides funding to
selected countries (eastern and southern neighbours) based on their ‘progress
towards deep and sustainable democracy and implementation of agreed reform
objectives contributing to the attainment of that goal’.[3] In 2014 three eastern
partner countries received funding under the umbrella programme: Ukraine (EUR 40
million), Moldova (EUR 30 million) and Georgia (EUR 30
million).

2.2.      Justice, freedom and security issues, migration and
mobility

Cooperation on justice, freedom and security is a key area of
the Eastern Partnership. The reform of the judiciary topped the reform
agenda in a number of eastern partner countries in 2014. The ongoing reforms
are intended to ensure the independence and efficiency of the justice system
and to contribute to preventing and combating corruption. Visa liberalisation
is seen as a priority area by most partner countries and the Visa
Liberalisation Action Plans (VLAPs) have been important instruments for
advancing far-reaching reforms. Border management in several of the
partner countries continued to improve significantly, coming closer to the
practices and standards of the Schengen area.

Justice

The main results of justice reforms in 2014 in the partner countries
include: better access to justice (the building of new court-houses and the
establishment of regional justice departments), better protection of the right
to defence (more effective public defender offices, School of Advocates),
greater transparency (online publication of sentences and decisions), the
introduction of specialised justice for young offenders, better protection of
human rights (including legislation on anti-discrimination). Further reform
efforts are needed to strengthen the efficiency and independence of the
judiciary, away from political interference as well as from any form of
corruption. In light of the EaP Summit in May, a Ministerial meeting on justice
and home affairs took place in Riga in January 2015 with a focus on judicial
and law enforcement and the fight against systemic corruption.

Partner countries also carried out reforms to their prison systems.
The main results include better rehabilitation and access to education and
training and significantly improved healthcare in prisons and detention centres
(clinics, medical sections). In addition to providing bilateral support, the EU
is working with the Council of Europe to improve the judicial reform processes
in the six partner countries and to bring them closer to Council of Europe and
EU standards.

Mobility Partnerships, migration and mobility dialogues

Mobility Partnerships provide a framework for policy
dialogue and operational cooperation between the EU, its Member States and the
partner countries. In July and December, the EU and Moldova held high-level and
expert meetings to review cooperation in this area. In 2014 Moldova continued
to sign labour and social security agreements with EU Member States.
Additionally, Moldova and Germany signed a declaration of intent on the
circular mobility of health sector professionals. In August, Moldova started
issuing its citizens with fourth generation passports containing integrated
chips in the booklets.

Implementation of the Mobility Partnership with Georgia
progressed in 2014. A new project to strengthen Georgia’s border management and
migration capacities was launched on 1 January 2014. Cooperation in the context
of the EU-Armenia Mobility Partnership also advanced, with the smooth
implementation of a targeted initiative project entitled ‘Strengthening
Armenia’s migration management capacities, with special focus on reintegration
activities’. In May 2014 an exploratory mission took place in Baku to produce a
project supporting the launch of the Mobility Partnership with Azerbaijan.

Cooperation at regional level progressed well. In the
framework of the 'Prague Process', the pilot projects on irregular migration,
on legal migration and on migration and development concluded successfully.

Visa liberalisation Action Plans (VLAP)

The Visa Liberalisation Action Plans (VLAPs) with Moldova, Ukraine
and Georgia continued in 2014 to be an effective way of advancing justice and
home affairs reforms. Moldovan citizens were able to travel visa-free to the
Schengen area starting from 28 April 2014 after Moldova met all the criteria
under its Visa Liberation Action Plan. The European Commission continued the
dialogue with the Moldovan authorities on ensuring that they stick to the
reforms and that there are no abuses of the visa-free regime. The EU is
contributing with a dedicated programme to support the continued implementation
of the reforms put in place under the VLAP process. Ukraine made substantial
progress by adopting a number of substantial legislative packages to fill the
gaps identified, and moved to the second phase of its Visa Liberalisation
Action Plan. Georgia adopted important laws in the areas of document security,
asylum, data protection and anti-discrimination. The October 2014 progress
report on Georgia’s implementation of its Visa Liberalisation Action Plan
concluded that the first-phase requirements of the visa dialogue had been met,
and as a result the second phase was launched.

Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements

The lifting of EU visa requirements for the citizens of partner
countries travelling to the EU is one of the Eastern Partnership’s key
long-term objectives. Over the shorter term, the Partnership plans to conclude
Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements. These have already been signed
with Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Visa Facilitation
Agreement and Readmission Agreement with Armenia entered into force on 1
January 2014 and for Azerbaijan both agreements entered into force on 1
September 2014. Negotiations with Belarus on Visa Facilitation and Readmission
Agreements were launched in January 2014.

2.3.      Sector cooperation

Sustainable economic development and support for small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Sustainable economic development,
including support for the private sector and employment, and implementation
of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas are key priorities for EU
economic cooperation with the partner countries. New programmes in support of
DCFTA implementation and the competitiveness of small businesses in Georgia and
Moldova were set up in 2014. Furthermore, the SME Flagship continued to be an
important vehicle for support to the SME sector in the region. Moldova signed
the Agreement to participate in COSME (Programme for the Competitiveness of
Enterprises and SMEs), whilst other partner countries showed interest in this
programme.

Regional development, including pilot regional development
programmes (PRDPs)

Programmes on regional development, including pilot programmes, are
underway in most countries and are based on best practices in the EU approach
to cohesion and regional development. These are intended to stimulate the
development and economic diversification of rural areas and reduce regional
disparities.

In 2014 Georgia launched its second regional development programme
to provide further support in improving the socioeconomic development of all
nine of its regions and the living conditions of the population. The
implementation of the regional development support programme continued in
Armenia in 2014. Moldova is benefitting from a new project aiming to improve
regional planning and project pipelines for north, south and central
development regions. A new programme on regional
development was launched in Azerbaijan.

Agriculture and rural development and ENPARD

Agriculture remains one of the
central economic activities in most eastern partner countries and involves a
large proportion of the countries’ active populations. The European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and
Rural Development (ENPARD) continued to provide support to long-term reforms of
the agriculture and rural development sectors in partner countries.

The programme is particularly useful
to Georgia and Moldova in helping them improve competitiveness and quickly
adapt to the standards for producing safe, high-quality agricultural products,
in line with EU sanitary and phytosanitary rules and quality requirements. In
this way they will be able to take full benefit of the EU market opportunities
offered by the DCFTAs. Support from the EU helped Moldova to withstand the
consequences of limited market access to Russia, its major agricultural export
destination. Additional support is provided through the Neighbourhood
Investment Facility (NIF) – together with the European Investment Bank – to
help Moldova modernise its agricultural sector and to assist the growth of SMEs
within it. In November, the EU and Armenia launched a new programme for the
agricultural and rural development sector that will contribute to better living
conditions in rural areas.

Energy

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia highlighted the region's
importance vis-à-vis European energy security. The trilateral
discussions between the European Commission, Ukraine and Russia to guarantee
the gas supply for the winter 2014-15 further underlined the importance of this
issue. The sectoral session of the informal partnership dialogue held in Baku
in September focused on energy infrastructure and interconnectivity and enjoyed
high-level participation. The need for strategic investments in
interconnections and infrastructure has become one of the priorities agreed
with international financial institutions for the NIF. 2014 also marked the
inauguration of several infrastructure interconnections between Member States
and partner countries (e.g. between Romania and Moldova, and the reverse flow
upgrade between Slovakia and Ukraine). The electricity interconnection between
Turkey and Georgia became operational in 2014. Besides security and
diversification of gas supply, countries also concentrated on improving energy
efficiency and the use of renewables. In this respect, the Eastern
Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) was extended to
Moldova, Georgia and Armenia.

Energy remained one of the main priorities in EU-Azerbaijan
cooperation. In this context, the signature of the final investment decision on
17 December 2013 regarding the development of Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan
was a major achievement that will result initially in 10 billion cubic metres
per year of gas transiting from Azerbaijan to the EU market from 2020.

The Energy Community constitutes the most powerful tool for
regulatory approximation as it entails adopting the bulk of EU energy
legislation (the so-called ‘Energy Community acquis’). It also provides
a framework for cooperation on energy security. The 2014 EU energy security
‘stress tests’, aimed at assessing the resilience of the European energy
systems to potential disruptions of external gas supplies, were carried out
together with Energy Community contracting parties and candidate countries. The
European Commission Communication on the short-term resilience of the European
gas system, adopted on 16 October 2014, was a first concrete step to better
cooperation to ensure energy security in the EU and in the Energy Community.
The future of the Energy Community was discussed at the 12th Energy Community
Ministerial Council (Kiev, 23 September 2014). Negotiations for Georgia’s
accession to the Energy Community Treaty were launched in February 2014 and are
still ongoing.

Transport

Progress was made on integrating partner countries’ transport
systems with the EU transport system following the approval of the EaP regional
transport network in Luxembourg in 2013 and its inclusion in the indicative
TEN-T maps: work is underway on the proposed inclusion of inland waterways in
the agreed network and on preparing future investments in the infrastructure.
The EU-Ukraine comprehensive air services agreement was initialled and
is pending signature. Regional transport cooperation progressed
well, focusing on rail and road priority projects located on the agreed
networks, but also on ‘quick wins’ such as road safety and maintenance. Areas
of cooperation also include the improvement of motorways of the sea, hinterland
connections, logistics centres and the safety and security of maritime and
aviation transport. Regulatory convergence on transport is a priority for the
Eastern Partnership countries who have signed Association Agreements with the
EU.

Environment

Environment was recognised as a priority field for action in the
Vilnius Declaration, with all partner countries agreeing on the importance of
pursuing regulatory approximation and policy convergence. In 2014, cooperation
continued at a regional level via the EaP Flagship ‘Towards a Shared
Environmental Information System Programme (SEIS) in the ENPI Region’, as well
under the other regional programmes. One particular success was the conclusion
of the regional programme on Air Quality Governance (see details under the
subchapter Flagship Initiatives).  Further progress can be noted in sharing
environmental information, improving air quality governance, strengthening
forest policy and regulations, water management, improving biodiversity
protection, and the environmentally sound management of obsolete pesticides. The
NIF continued to provide significant support to countries in modernising
environment-related infrastructure, such as the support to Yerevan solid waste
management in Armenia, or municipal services (water and waste) in Moldova and
Georgia.

In April the EU Joint Research Centre organised a regional dialogue
in Tbilisi on prosecuting the illicit trafficking of radioactive and nuclear
materials.

Climate action

Climate action was also recognised as a priority in the
Vilnius Declaration. Under the framework provided by the policy component of
the 'Clima East' project, progress was made in 2014 on preparing partner
countries for climate negotiations. Activities, including two international
seminars, improved partner countries’ capacity to contribute to the development
of the 2015 Climate Agreement. Eastern partners were
encouraged to prepare and present their intended
nationally determined contribution by March 2015.

Education, youth and culture, knowledge and innovation space

The EU is committed to cooperation on education, youth and culture
and on achieving a common knowledge and innovation space. Further progress on
this matter was made in 2014, as detailed below in chapter 3.4.

Integrated maritime policy and fisheries

Cooperation on marine and maritime affairs between the EU and the
Eastern European partner countries in the Black Sea basin is provided for in
the association agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Cooperation in
this field will enable the partner countries to develop integrated approaches to
maritime policy, develop its tools in the relevant national policy areas and
improve cooperation in regional and international marine and maritime forums.

Statistics

Statistical cooperation has intensified through the development of a
strategy for statistical cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries for
the period 2014-20. The aim of the strategy, which was drafted together with
the partner countries, is for policymakers in the EU and the eastern partner
countries to have access to statistical information compiled in accordance with
European standards and therefore comparable and of high quality. As a result of
increased interest in implementing this strategy, a new Panel was set up under
Platform 2 to develop quality assurance frameworks in line with the European
Statistics Code of Practice, to further strengthen the cooperation between the
national statistical offices, to enhance the institutional capacity to produce
high quality statistics and comparable data, and to share best practice in this
important horizontal area.

EU programmes and agencies

Ukraine,
Moldova, Armenia and Georgia have already signed framework agreements
with the EU on the general principles for participation in Union programmes.
The agreement with Azerbaijan was signed on 14 June 2014 and applies
provisionally. The new generation of Union programmes (2014–20) has opened up
more opportunities for the participation of Neighbourhood countries. In the
east, the greatest interest is currently for the 'Horizon 2020' (see chapter 3.4),
Creative Europe and COSME programmes (see the section entitled ‘Economic
development and support for SMEs’ above). The EU is also financing cooperation
projects launched in 2014 between nine EU regulatory agencies (EASA, ECDC, EEA,
EFSA, ECMDDA, OSHA and EUROFOUND, EMSA and Frontex[4]) and the Eastern
Partnership countries.

3.         STRENGTHENING
MULTILATERAL COOPERATION

The EaP multilateral dimension provides a
forum for exchange and cooperation through four thematic platforms to
exchange best practices on matters of mutual interest: good governance,
economic integration and growth, energy security, and contacts between people.
These continue to serve as forums for open discussion and include
representatives from government ministries and agencies, parliaments, civil
society, international organisations, international financial institutions, the
private sector and economic and social partners. Supported financially by the
European Commission, the four Eastern Partnership thematic platforms continued
to meet twice a year to review and discuss next steps in the policy dialogue
between the EU and EaP countries. The EaP platforms have seen good levels of
engagement by the partner countries and the EU Member States. Panels and
seminars on specific policy areas, within the framework of the four platforms,
continued to deepen policy dialogue between the EU and eastern partner
countries. A new set of 2014–17 work programmes has begun to be implemented.

At the fourth informal EaP dialogue
held in Baku on 11-12 September 2014 with energy as a sector component, the
Foreign Ministers’ plenary session continued to reflect on some of the most
important issues raised at the annual EaP Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 23 July
2014. The partner countries conveyed their views on the advancement of the
partnership and their expectations for the EaP Summit in Riga.

3.1.      Democracy, good governance and stability

Platform 1 aims to promote democratic
principles, good governance and stability by improving key sectors of
governance. In 2014, the platform’s activities focused mainly on cooperation in
the area of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), public administration
reform, asylum and migration, improving the functioning of the judiciary and
the safe management of state borders (integrated border management). Work on
electoral standards, judicial reform, good governance, the fight against
corruption and concerted action against cybercrime continued to benefit from
the advice of the Council of Europe.

In 2014, the Panel on Common Security and Defence Policy
cooperation agreed on a number of new activities and projects for 2015,
in cooperation with the European Security and Defence College, the European
External Action Service (EEAS), the European Commission and some EU Member
States. The projects include joint CSDP courses and training programmes for
officials from partner countries, a CSDP-related research study for several EaP
countries, various workshops including on EU battle groups, a joint field visit
to Georgia, and further outreach conferences with civil society.

Significant interest and engagement by EaP countries was shown in
the Panel on migration and asylum. The work of the panel was devoted in
2014 to labour migration and migrants’ access to rights, detention, asylum and
trafficking in human beings. An expert meeting on detention was held in
Chişinău in March. EaP countries were keen to continue engaging with
the panel. In 2015 for the first time there will be an expert meeting in Minsk.

The EU and its partner countries continued their cooperation on the
prevention and fight against corruption. The 6th meeting of the EaP Panel on
the fight against corruption focused on preventing and fighting against
corruption in public procurement, as well as training and exchanges of best practices.
The activities under the Council of Europe Eastern Partnership Facility were
discussed, including the ideas for the new Council of Europe/Eastern
Partnership programmatic cooperation framework starting from 2015.

The Panel on improved functioning of the judiciary held its
third meeting in November 2014 in Kiev, focusing on councils for the judiciary,
their composition, organisation, and powers. The panel
took stock of the results of the 2014-17 work programme and of the cooperation
under the Council of Europe Eastern Partnership Facility.

The Panel on
integrated border management continued to guide the implementation of the pilot projects
under the integrated border management Flagship initiative. The partner
countries continued to learn how to facilitate the movement of persons and
goods across borders while at the same time maintaining secure borders. The
panel focused on concrete practical case studies where the Military Staff of
the European Union (EUMS), international organisations, the European Border
Assistance Mission EUBAM and the partner countries exchanged best practices in
areas such as joint border control, joint transit
system or fast
lane corridors.

The Panel on public administration reform conducted
substantial work on civil service reform, e-government, the transparency of
asset declarations and on improving cooperation between governments and
regional and local authorities. A new streamlined work programme began to be
implemented, focusing more on improving value-based public administration
legislation in line with European best practices. This was done in conjunction
with the initiative on support for improvement in governance and management
(SIGMA), and with the Council of Europe.

In parallel, in 2014 the Commission launched a new programmatic
cooperation framework with the Council of Europe for the period 2015-17.
The three-year regional programme, which has financial resources of EUR 30.4
million, will provide substantial assistance to eastern partners on human
rights, justice, rule of law, information society and democratic governance.

The Eastern Partnership territorial cooperation support programme
continued to conduct capacity building, advocacy, communication and
awareness-raising activities in all the Eastern Partnership countries
throughout the year. The aim was to lay the foundation for the territorial
cooperation programmes established at four borders between Ukraine and Belarus,
Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, and Georgia and Azerbaijan
respectively. The activities chiefly targeted local, regional and national
authorities, civil society organisations, international donors and the media.

3.2.      Economic integration and convergence with EU sector
policies

Platform 2 focuses on economic
integration and convergence with EU sector policies. This platform was
particularly active, with input and ideas coming from partner country
government representatives, business associations and leading donors and
knowhow providers such as the EBRD, EIB, OECD and others. The high level of
participation confirmed the commitment of those involved to achieving the
platform’s goals. Much attention was devoted to the implementation of
Association Agreements and especially DCFTAs, but discussions also dealt with
general issues of interest for all six partner countries, touching on all areas
of economic development. A substantial number of panels are coordinated under
Platform 2; at its second meeting in 2014 a new Statistics Panel was approved
and a panel on Harmonisation of Digital Markets was proposed to upgrade the ICT
working area.

The meetings of the Panel on transport followed up on the
implementation of the decisions taken at the second eastern European transport
ministers meeting. These focused on including inland waterways in the transport
network, but also dealt with EU
road safety policy, including the adoption of the roadworthiness package
presented at the sixth EaP panel meeting, progress on cross-border
enforcement and new targets on injuries. Two regional projects on road safety
were launched in January 2014, supporting countries on road design, awareness
campaigns and enforcement of legislation.

The European
Commission organised a workshop covering the main elements of the external
dimension of the Connecting Europe Facility. Special attention was paid to
high-impact projects on safety, maintenance, intelligent transport systems,
improving border crossing points and to investigating the possibility of
‘blending’ EU funds with financing from international financial institutions.

The EaP Panel on agriculture and rural development met
in January and November 2014. The Panel addressed issues related to improving
the level of professionalism in rural areas, and to land fragmentation and
solutions for land consolidation. The EaP Ministers of Agriculture Conference
Chair's conclusions (Chişinău, January 2014) recalled the importance
of the sector for the sustainable and inclusive development of their countries,
identified common challenges and confirmed their commitment in addressing them,
with the aim of encouraging the establishment of long-term agricultural and
rural development strategies, with the full involvement of civil society and
farm organisations.

The Panel on trade and technical barriers to trade in October
in Tbilisi focused on the reform of systems of quality infrastructure and
conformity assessment, related institution and administrative capacity building
accreditation, conformity assessment and metrology. Partner countries and
business associations participated actively, delivering presentations and
exchanging solutions and views on the existing legal frameworks and practices.

The fifth Panel on SME Policy took place in October 2014 in
Georgia. The meeting focused on Georgia’s upcoming SME Strategy and Armenia’s
participation in the ‘Supporting SME competitiveness reforms in the eastern
partner countries’ project. The EU presented the latest developments on its SME
policy, including the ‘SBA (Small Business Act) 2.0’. The SME Panel also
endorsed the revised methodology for the second round of the small business act
assessment launched in April 2014. A special session on access to finance was
organised. The participants positively endorsed the SME Flagship 2020 approach,
which will serve as a strategic framework for programmes to be developed within
the SME Flagship.

Under the Panel on Environment and Climate Change, a seminar
on waste management was held. The Emerald Network project continued to
facilitate a coherent approach at national and European levels, and initiated a
scientific assessment of the sufficiency of nature protection sites. The
‘Forest Law Enforcement and Governance’ (FLEG) programme continued to
provide support in formulating and implementing forest policy and legislation,
and on capacity building and raising awareness. To date, nineteen government
institutions have received assistance to improve their management of forest
resources, and more than 600 stakeholders have benefited from capacity building
activities. In 2014 Georgia approved a new forestry policy developed with the
programme’s support and in Belarus a new forestry code was approved at its
first reading. With the support of the project on obsolete pesticides, partner
countries made progress on developing national and regional strategies for
sustainable pest and pesticide management and environmentally sound management
of obsolete pesticides and other hazardous waste. A call for tenders was
recently launched to address the acute public health and environmental risks
over the disposal of 900 tonnes of obsolete pesticides in the Eastern
Partnership countries.

In November the
European Commission supported by German authorities organised a Panel meeting,
in the framework of the project ClimaEast, to provide guidance and training on
the drafting process of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to the
Climate Change Conference in Paris 2015.

In the area of Information
Society and Digital Markets, the partner's network of regulators for
electronic communications (EaPeReg) continued its capacity building and
regional cooperation throughout 2014. A memorandum of understanding was signed
with BEREC (the Body of EU Regulators for Electronic Communications) in Dec
2014. Two workshops on the Harmonisation of Digital Markets (HDM) in the EaP
aimed at promoting cooperation on topics such as eCommerce, eCustoms and
Digital Skills. Consequently, an HDM Study was launched in Dec 2014 to assess
the harmonisation readiness in the partner countries.

3.3.      Energy security

The role and impact of activities under the Eastern Partnership Platform
3 on Energy Security was enhanced in 2014 and participation was both at
high level and very active. The platform met twice in 2014, in accordance with
its 2014-17 work programme. The first meeting focused on energy efficiency and
was held back-to-back with the Covenant of Mayors event next day under the EU’s
Sustainable Energy Week. The second meeting, held back-to-back with the INOGATE
Annual Meeting on 22 October 2014, focused on security of supply and regional
interconnections (including the EU stress test report) and on conventional and
unconventional oil and gas resources. The meeting was a specific follow-up on
the informal partnership dialogue on security of supply and regional
interconnections held in Baku in September.

Participants discussed existing programmes to support
interconnections and investment in energy infrastructure and also the need to
improve investment and the business environment in order to attract further
national and foreign investment. The third workshop of the Eastern Partnership
energy regulatory bodies took place in May in London and focused on market
integration. The workshop meeting was complemented by a field trip to the UK
site of the BritNed interconnector.

3.4.      People-to-people contacts

Platform 4 supports
interaction between EU citizens and citizens of partner countries. It focuses
on students, teachers, researchers, young people, artists and cultural
professionals. In 2014 the platform’s work continued to be organised in a
number of EU international cooperation programmes on higher education, young
people, culture and research. At
the two platform meetings held in May and December, the partner countries were
updated on the opportunities offered through programmes
in the areas of education and youth (Erasmus+), culture and media (Creative Europe) and research ('Horizon 2020') and were encouraged to share good practices and reform
agendas identifying areas for future cooperation.

There is strong interest in further strengthening cooperation over young
people between the Eastern Partnership and EU Member States. The Eastern
Partnership Youth Window has allowed more than 34 000 additional young
people and youth workers from Eastern Partnership countries and ‘Youth in
Action’ programme countries to participate in joint projects. Since 2014,
support to activities in the field of youth and non-formal learning for young
people, youth workers and organizations from Eastern Partnership countries has
been made available through Erasmus+. Schools from Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine were actively involved in running joint projects
with their European counterparts under E-Twinning Plus.

Support to the modernisation of higher education continued in 2014
within the framework of ongoing multiannual projects selected under Erasmus
Mundus and Tempus. Building on these successes, the Erasmus+ programme,
launched in 2014, reinforces the EU’s support for academic cooperation, and
student and staff mobility by reaching out to more beneficiaries. Institutions
of higher education, students and academic staff were able to apply to the call
launched in October 2014.

Information days and country specific events on Erasmus+ for Eastern
Partnership countries were organised by the national Erasmus+ offices in cooperation
with EU Delegations to raise awareness of the opportunities afforded under the
new programme.

The regional Torino Process meeting
to assess progress in vocational
education and training reform took
place on 3-4 December 2014,
giving all six EaP countries the opportunity to share their achievements in the
field of vocational education and training. Stakeholders discussed
achievements, challenges and priorities for vocational education and training
and identified areas for potential regional cooperation.

On 23-24 October 2014 a Conference
on Culture policy in Europe today: finance, management, audience development took
place in Kiev, Ukraine, focusing on the strategic role of culture in the EaP
countries and reviewing the
experience and best practices of the European Union and Eastern Partnership
countries on cultural policy development, particularly in the context of
national and global transformation processes.

On research and innovation, participation by EaP researchers and research
organisations increased in the final years of the Seventh Framework Programme
for Research and Technological Development, notably in the Marie Curie
International Research Staff Exchange Scheme and in the second European
Research Area-wide call, both of which target (in part) the EaP region. The
support continued under the new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
('Horizon 2020'). All nominated national contact points for Marie
Sklodowska-Curie actions from EaP countries participated in the first meeting
of the network that took place in Athens in March 2014. The second meeting of
the Eastern Partnership Panel on Research and Innovation was held on 21 May
2014.

An official launch event of 'Horizon 2020' was organised in
March 2014 in Chişinău for researchers and
innovators from EaP. Four EaP countries have
demonstrated their interest through requests for association to the 'Horizon
2020' programme. Moldova successfully completed negotiations and signed the
agreement for its association to 'Horizon 2020' in June 2014 and negotiations
with Ukraine were successfully completed by the end of 2014. Meanwhile,
negotiations with Armenia are on-going and are due to be launched with Georgia.

A new project, E@P.Connect, was
conceived by and agreed between the EU and the partner countries, aiming to
provide high-capacity connectivity between the partner countries' research and
education networks and with GEANT (the pan-European Research and Education
Network). This EUR 13 million project will enable the entire research and
education community in the partner countries (2 million people) to participate
in collaborative research activities on an equal footing with their European
and global peers.

3.5.      Update on flagship initiatives

Flagship initiative on integrated border management

The integrated
border management flagship initiative to support exchanges of best practice
between EU and EaP countries, training and capacity building and the funding of
pilot projects continued its work in 2014. A new capacity building project
led by Frontex began in June 2014 as a follow-up to the three years of training
financed by the EU. The capacity building will predominantly focus on training
curricula in the partner countries, specialised training, the fight against
corruption, and human rights aspects. Support for pilot projects
continued to focus on equipment and border crossing infrastructure. Where
necessary, this was complemented by specific training focusing on the eastern
European partners’ non-EU borders.

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

Disaster risk assessments were completed in all six partner
countries using the EU disaster risk assessment methodology. These covered five
hazards: floods, earthquakes, landslides, wild fires and industrial hazards.
The results of the assessments were presented as an electronic risk atlas and
are available at national, sub-regional and regional level. As a result of civil
protection training and table top exercises, the regional network of 35
operational 24/7 liaison officers was established. The flagship initiative also
established the first network of journalists covering emergency situations and
conducted public awareness campaigns focused on safety-based behaviour in all
six partner countries. Work is ongoing to incorporate EU directives and good
practices into national legislation, including the SEVESO Directive on the
control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances in Belarus and
Host Nation Support principles in Georgia. A second phase of the PPRD project
started in November to further strengthen partner countries’ civil protection
capacities for disaster prevention, preparedness and response, and to bring the
partner countries progressively closer to the EU civil protection mechanism.
The EU also launched the third cycle of support to disaster risk reduction in
the South Caucasus (DIPECHO III).

Flagship initiative on small and medium-sized enterprises

The aim of the initiative is to provide support for SME
development by improving the business climate, providing advisory services
to SMEs, improving access to financing, and enhancing the capacity of business
(support) and SME organisations. The EU contribution to the flagship amounts to
more than EUR 100 million of grant financing for the benefit of SMEs in the six
EaP countries. At the policy level, the EU works with the OECD to help EaP
partner countries in elaborating efficient SME policies. For example in
Georgia, the EU-financed OECD programme is working with the Ministry of Economy
to elaborate the first Georgian SME Strategy. The EU is also contributing to a
World Bank programme (STAREP) aiming at improving the financial reporting in
the region – today one of the key conditions for SMEs to access financing.

The EU initiated a vast networking programme, East Invest, which has
benefited more than 80 Business Support Organisations (BSOs) from the EaP
countries by bringing them together with BSOs from the EU. A wide range of
programmes involving EFIs (EBRD, EIB and KfW) are financed through the NIF
to help SMEs improve their competitiveness and to secure access to financing.
In 2014 the Commission presented to the SME Panel a strategy for the SME Flagship
until 2020 based on four main pillars: access to finance; better policy and
regulatory framework; enhanced knowledge base and business skills; and broader
access to the market.

For the three
countries that have signed the AA/DCFTAs with the EU, the new DCFTA Facility
for SMEs aims at mobilising EUR150 million of grants through the NIF in order
to leverage up to EUR 1.5 billion of investments from IFIs in the three
countries. In Moldova and Georgia, these initiatives will work in conjunction
with the new bilateral programmes set up in 2014.

Flagship initiative to promote good environmental governance

This initiative was implemented mainly through the regional
programme ‘Towards a shared environmental information system programme
(SEIS) in the ENPI[5]
Region’. The programme aims to improve the quality, timeliness and
availability of environmental information and to set up an environmental
information system in line with the EU’s shared environmental information
system. The programme focused on assisting with organisational, administrative
and technical aspects of the implementation of SEISs, and improved its support
to the creation and online sharing of a selected core set of eight
environmental indicators. On air quality governance, the EU-funded
regional project provided further assistance on pollution prevention permits,
with Belarus issuing its first such permits this year. The project also
assisted with developing national action plans for the ratification and
implementation in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Moldova of additional
protocols of the United Nations Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air
Pollution. The European Commission decided to continue EU support for a second
phase of SEISs. Regional Cooperation also continued in the context of the EU
Green East programme.

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

The main progress for this flagship initiative was on continuing the
INOGATE programme and extending the ‘Covenant of Mayors’ initiative for
better energy efficiency at municipal level to cover cities in eastern partner
countries. So far more than 100 cities joined the initiative to improve energy
efficiency at local level, and 52 cities already prepared and submitted their
sustainable energy action plans, making this one of the most successful ‘bottom
up’ initiatives in the area.

3.6.      Cooperation with international financial institutions
(IFIs)

In 2014 the EU decided on a more strategic focus and closer
guidance at an early stage for projects implemented in cooperation and
coordination with IFIs and Member State cooperation agencies. Special attention
was given to projects financed under the NIF. Significant funds were
mobilised in support of the macroeconomic stabilisation of Ukraine. This was
done in record time and with high-impact on Ukraine’s capacity to cope with the
crisis it is facing. IFIs actively participated in several high-level dialogues
with the EU in order to identify the main macroeconomic and strategic
challenges faced by partner countries and to achieve better coordination of
respective interventions and support.

IFIs actively
participated in the Eastern Partnership’s multilateral events, with a special
focus on Platforms 2 (economic integration) and 3 (energy security). During
panel and workshop meetings (for example on SMEs, transport and trade), IFIs
presented the main results of Eastern Partnership projects implemented by
blending EU and their own funds. The revised framework for strategic dialogue
on the NIF and the operational board offered enhanced opportunities for
dialogue with IFIs on macroeconomic development and on priority NIF projects.
The aim was to better reflect the EU policy priorities and increase the impact
of visibility of EU funding via an effective blending of the different sources
of funding. The NIF Strategic meeting agreed upon the three strategic
orientations for EU intervention: strategic infrastructure in transport and
energy; support for environmental protection and mitigation of climate change
effects; and sustainable and inclusive economic development, including support
for the development of SMEs.

3.7.      Relations with other stakeholders

The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (PA) is the parliamentary
dimension of the Eastern Partnership. It is a parliamentary forum that brings
together Members of the European Parliament and elected representatives from
the eastern European partner countries (except Belarus). The third ordinary
session of Euronest took place on 29 May 2014 in Brussels and adopted
resolutions on regional security challenges, the approximation of national
economic legislation, energy security and combating poverty and social
exclusion.

Launching the Eastern Partnership gave strong impetus to the EU’s
involvement with civil society. Following the creation of the Civil Society
Forum (CSF) in 2009 and subsequently the Neighbourhood Civil Society
Facility, civil society is now closely involved in implementing reforms and
democratic changes. In 2014 the Forum continued to contribute to the EaP’s
thematic platforms and panel meetings. It issued a number of statements and
recommendations to the partner countries’ governments and the EU. It also
engaged in advocacy to draw attention to developments in the eastern European
partner countries. Civil Society Forum members also started developing joint
regional projects. The Eastern Partnership’s CSF Secretariat in Brussels
further strengthened its capacities and contributed to coordinating the forum’s
various structures and activities.

In 2011-2013 support for civil society in the Eastern
Partnership region reached EUR 40 million. This funding enabled civil society
to get involved in a variety of areas, including oversight in public finance
policy and management, food safety reform, policy dialogue with national
parliaments, election observation, environmental protection, social inclusion,
local development and public policies. A regional technical assistance project
was also put in place to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations
in the region and to improve dialogue between civil society and governments.
The EU also supports the Secretariat of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society
Forum and its national platforms.

On 21-22 November 2014, the sixth annual meeting of the
Civil Society Forum took place in Batumi, Georgia. It provided a good
opportunity for exchanging views on a broad range of issues and for civil
society organisations from the EU and EaP countries to exchange best practices.
The meeting issued several statements, including one looking ahead to the EaP
Summit in Riga.

The Conference of Regions and Local Authorities of the Eastern
Partnership is an integral part of the governance
structure of the Eastern Partnership, bringing together representatives of
local and regional governments. It met for five plenary sessions in 2014 and
discussed public administration reform, local and regional decentralisation and
territorial cooperation.

4.         EASTERN PARTNERSHIP VISIBILITY

Efforts to boost the visibility of Eastern Partnership were
stepped up in 2014. The EaP Visibility strategy put in place a more
coherent and coordinated approach to awareness-raising and communication
activities. EU institutions, EU Member States, partner countries, civil society
and other stakeholders contributed to implementing the strategy and
communicating the Partnership’s principles, activities and benefits to the
public in partner countries and the EU.

The EU institutions developed key messages and frequently asked
questions (FAQs) on different aspects of the EaP and in response to the Ukraine
crisis. The EU Delegations worked hard to explain the new agreements
(AA/DCFTAs) to local stakeholders and the general public, especially in
Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

The regional ENPI communication programme complemented EU bilateral
activities on the ground and contributed to making the Eastern Partnership more
visible. Support to regional communication activities is set to continue under
the OPEN programme, which was approved in 2014. Visibility and communication
are an integral part of individual cooperation projects, thus contributing to
improving information on what the EU is doing in the eastern partner countries.

____________________________________

[1] Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) is a form of financial aid
extended by the EU to partner countries experiencing a balance of payments
crisis. It takes the form of medium/long-term loans or grants, or a combination
of these, and is only available to countries benefiting from a disbursing IMF
programme. All Eastern Neighbourhood countries are in principle eligible for
MFA.

[2] http://eeas.europa.eu/enp/how-is-it-financed/index_en.htm.

[3] Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 11 March 2014 establishing a European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI)
http://eeas.europa.eu/enp/pdf/enp-regulation-11032014_en.pdf.

[4] European
Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of
the Member States of the European Union (Frontex)

[5] European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument,
i.e. the predecessor of the ENI.