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| 30.5.2023 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 188/10 |

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Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on the Future of the Eastern Partnership from a local and regional perspective

(2023/C 188/03)

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| | | | | --- | --- | | Rapporteur: | Alin-Adrian NICA (RO/EPP) | | Reference document: | Own initiative opinion | |

I.   POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR),

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| | 1. | whereas Russia’s war in Ukraine, aided by Belarus, and the continuous threat to the territorial integrity of Moldova and Georgia, demonstrates the urgent need for the EU to support the free and democratic path of countries in the EU’s neighbourhood more firmly; |

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| | 2. | whereas there is a commitment among EU Member States and the current Eastern European Partner countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) to continue, renew and strengthen the Eastern Partnership (EaP) so that it remains the leading forum and framework for cooperation with the neighbouring countries east of the EU; |

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| | 3. | whereas the most powerful long-term European response to the Russian invasion will be free and democratic states in Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and beyond, with strong regional and local authorities, economically vibrant cities and resilient societies committed to European values; |

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| | 4. | whereas all partnership countries with all the rights and obligations embedded in the Helsinki Accords and OSCE founding statutes are free to perpetuate a European perspective, provided they also meet the Copenhagen criteria; |

II.   REDEFINING THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

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| | 5. | welcomes the decision of the European Council in June 2022 to grant EU candidate status to the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine and to recognise a future European perspective for Georgia; |

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| | 6. | commends the considerable progress made by the three countries, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine (the Trio), on the implementation of their Association Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements; |

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| | 7. | welcomes the entry into force of Armenia’s Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 3 March 2021 as a milestone for EU-Armenia relations; |

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| | 8. | considers that the ‘fundamentals’ should remain the common ground for bringing the Eastern Partnership closer together, i.e. a shared commitment to freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, while continuing to work on shared objectives such as promoting gender equality, protection of minorities and language rights, counteracting climate change, advancing the green and digital transitions, supporting a strong and independent civil society, increasing resilience and prosperity, and deepening economic relations; underlines that continued support for the Belarusian democratic opposition at all levels of governance as well as support for civil society are essential for promoting democratic values in the country; |

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| | 9. | points to the significant role that regional and local authorities can play in defending the ‘fundamentals’ in regions and local communities, and in attaining the shared objectives, guaranteeing at the same time the subsidiarity principle of the EU by bringing local citizens closer to the European Union and its values; |

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| | 10. | stresses, nevertheless, that a redefinition of the Eastern Partnership’s policy objectives and its multilateral architecture is needed to keep the Partnership prospering; |

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| | 11. | recognises that, after more than a decade of EaP cooperation, the country-specific priorities among the Eastern partner countries are now diverging due to their different development needs, national priorities, and integrational aspirations, but also due to Russia’s policy of aggression, destabilising tactics and disinformation. The CoR therefore awaits eagerly the European Commission’s proposal to assess the future of the Eastern Partnership; |

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| | 12. | acknowledges that the EaP remains a relevant framework, which has not exhausted its full regional potential and can continue to have a purpose for all partners, if it is reformed to define country-specific objectives towards the EU. Flexible formats and tools within that framework should complement the needs of both the new EU candidate countries and the other partners, while maintaining the common values and rules, mutual interests and commitments; |

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| | 13. | points out that the EaP should be more results-oriented, by adapting its tools and operating formats to respond to the needs of the partners, including by helping the most advanced partners on their way towards EU membership; |

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| | 14. | calls for both the European Commission and the partner governments to involve regional and local authorities in the setting of cooperation priorities with territorial impact (e.g. on energy efficiency, environment and climate adaptation, transport connectivity, decentralisation and public administration reform, support for civil society), and to engage them in the relevant EaP platforms and panels, which should be enlarged to representatives of CORLEAP; |

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| | 15. | notes the positive impacts of Eastern Partnership cooperation on the lives of ordinary citizens but underlines the fact that the visibility of the Partnership and the EU’s contribution needs to be increased based on past achievements; this could also be achieved by working systematically with local and regional authorities and their associations on the ground; |

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| | 16. | notes that local self-government, which is a basic pillar and cornerstone of democracy, needs to be further supported in order to achieve the EaP objectives, and welcomes the work of the Congress of the Council of Europe in this field; |

III.   POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

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| | 17. | favours adopting a tailor-made approach to the Eastern Partnership objectives to reflect the different needs of the EU candidates, potential candidates and other partners, as the one-size-fits-all approach is no longer justified; the country-specific needs should be designed in a way that also takes into account the specific interests of regional and local communities; |

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| | 18. | recommends a more flexible geographical scope for the EaP opening up the possibility of cooperating more closely with countries such as certain countries in Central Asia, as well as identifying areas for cooperation with the countries of the Western Balkans; |

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| | 19. | points out that a regional and local networking dimension should be reaffirmed within a revamped Eastern Partnership through a political dialogue (CORLEAP) and through territorial cooperation. In this context, the European Committee of the Regions and CORLEAP, via its members and partners, could contribute to the implementation of a territorial agenda of the Eastern Partnership in the form of peer-to-peer cooperation and peer-learning mechanisms; |

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| | 20. | recognises that the Partnership has served well in providing a framework for a number of projects aimed at good governance, and strengthening civil society; considers, nevertheless, that actions for bolstering resilience should be mainstreamed and new tools to that end offered to all levels of governance; |

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| | 21. | points out that within the Eastern Partnership a multi-level platform for the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals should be set up; achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the region would be conducive to introducing local energy measures and installing alternatives to create environmentally friendly systems independent of Russian energy resources, while consequently improving the livelihoods and resilience of local communities and their citizens; |

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| | 22. | suggests creating an Eastern Partnership Joint Secretariat, in which the EU and each partner are duly represented, including representatives of the local and regional level, and aimed at leveraging funds, and identifying and shaping projects in accordance with the main political objectives of the Partnership; considers that a joint secretariat would enhance members’ ownership of the project, and increase transparency, coordination and visibility; |

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| | 23. | recommends implementing without further delay the project for a virtual Academy for Local and Regional Public Administration [(1)](#ntr1-C_2023188EN.01001001-E0001) in order to strengthen the capacity-building of local and regional authorities in the Eastern Partnership, promote transparency and good governance, fight corruption, and assist partner members in conducting decentralisation reforms; |

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| | 24. | advocates the extension of the TAIEX and Twinning programmes to regional and local authorities in the EaP countries in order to improve their administrative capacities; the extension of the network of stakeholders for twinning projects to regional and local authorities will have a trickle-down effect and will contribute to the easier implementation of project objectives; |

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| | 25. | believes that dedicated financial allocations addressed to local and regional authorities of the EU and the Eastern Partnership, to be identified within the EUR 17 billion Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership, would help the proliferation of cross-border and territorial cooperation, including through the use of the European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs), thus stimulating the sharing of best practices and the implementation of projects tailored to the needs of identified territorial goals; |

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| | 26. | considers that the EaP could focus more on practical projects and initiatives for increasing the connectivity of the EaP partners with the EU, in particular in the area of physical infrastructure (road and rail transport, electricity and digital cables, sea routes, energy interconnections etc.), as well as for integrating them into the EU digital and telecoms market (e.g. eliminating roaming charges); suggests, therefore, offering immediate economic sectoral integration opportunities, including steps towards integration into the EU internal market, and financial assistance at unprecedented levels and pace, also by boosting local and regional entrepreneurship, particularly among SMEs in the Trio countries; |

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| | 27. | calls for the creation of an investment platform under the Eastern Partnership which would link the efforts of the international financial institutions and put local and regional authorities in a position to facilitate projects within the Eastern Partnership in terms of capacity-building, technical assistance, and good governance, as a way to stimulate sustainable territorial development, prevent social and economic disparities, and support the localisation and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the area; |

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| | 28. | suggests, therefore, developing a model for local investments in the Eastern Partnership, following the experience of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, with a view to financing a wide range of social and economic projects implemented by governmental, local, and regional stakeholders as well as public institutions; |

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| | 29. | considers that the partnership countries should be given flexibility in choosing programmes that are the most relevant for them, and, at the same time, in prioritising programmes directed towards local and regional bodies, which would give the European Committee of the Regions a key role in identifying European partners ready to further engage with their counterparts; |

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| | 30. | recommends prioritising measures and projects aimed at addressing in particular the green and digital transitions and boosting socioeconomic recovery, and calls for an agenda for recovery, resilience and reform to be adopted at the forthcoming EaP summit of heads of state; |

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| | 31. | underlines the fact that the partner countries have signed an agreement of cooperation in order to combat the deterioration of the environment, particularly stressing climate action, including energy and infrastructure, as well as waste reduction and the conservation of biodiversity; |

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| | 32. | stresses that administrative decentralisation and an increased share of public affairs being managed by local authorities in the partner countries is a key factor for ensuring and maintaining an all-embracing democracy to improve people’s participation, including supporting new methods of public consultation (citizens’ panels, participatory democracy), anti-corruption measures, protection of human rights, including of minorities and the improvement of justice systems while demonstrating EU core values; |

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| | 33. | recommends that local and regional authorities of the Eastern Partnership further engage with all partners geared towards fostering policies for local development beyond the EU’s enlargement policy, including the Council of Europe and the European Political Community. |

Brussels, 15 March 2023.

The President of the European Committee of the Regions

Vasco ALVES CORDEIRO

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[(1)](#ntc1-C_2023188EN.01001001-E0001)  Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions — Local and regional authorities shaping the future Eastern Partnership ([OJ C 79, 10.3.2020, p. 45](http://publications.europa.eu/resource/oj/JOC_2020_079_R_TOC)).

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