1.

Recommends that the Council, the Commission and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: (a) acknowledge that the EaP countries have increasingly assumed more responsibility and ownership with respect to the EaP initiative; underline the importance of striving for a continuous impetus towards effective cooperation, intense dialogue and close partnership within the EaP, enhanced by the transformational impact of the EaP policy, which supports reforms that generate positive political, social, economic and legal change in the EaP countries, taking into consideration their level of ambition towards the EU; highlight the associated countries’ striving for an ever closer relationship with the EU; confirm the sovereign right of the EaP countries to freely choose their individual level of cooperation or integration with the EU and to reject any external pressure on such choice; (b) underline that, pursuant to Article 49 TEU, any European state may apply to become a member of the EU provided that it respects the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, as referred to in Article 2 TEU; acknowledge that, while accession is not foreseen under the framework of the EaP, the EaP policy can facilitate a process of gradual integration into the EU; consider that for an eventual accession process both the EU and the EaP country concerned must be well prepared, taking into account the EU’s future reforms process and the partner country’s approximation to the EU acquis, as well as its compliance with the EU membership criteria; ensure that the full implementation of the current agreements between the EU and EaP countries will be the first step in this gradual integration process; (c) promptly enact a strategic and future-oriented vision for the next decade of the EaP policy beyond 2020 with the aim of providing benefits first and foremost for citizens, strengthening resilience, fostering sustainable development, ensuring irreversible achievements, and deepening the EU-EaP cooperation and integration process, which is in the EU’s own security and economic interests; (d) ensure that the conclusions of the June 2020 Summit include a clear strategy and a long-term common vision for further engagement and development of the EaP beyond 2020, reinforced EU commitments and political incentives, as well as a pledge from the EaP countries to deliver on their own; encourage future Presidencies of the Council of the EU, in line with the European Parliament’s resolutions and recommendations, to prepare detailed and ambitious agendas for cooperation with EaP countries, which would help to shape relations with EaP countries in a mutually desired direction in the decades to come; (e) recognise that the EaP should continue to be an attractive framework for cooperation and support this process in line with the ‘more for more’ principle, in order to keep the EaP countries engaged in the reform process and on their path towards the EU; (f) acknowledge that the Eastern partnership runs both ways as the experience of the EaP countries can be shared for the mutual benefit of the EU and its Member States and the EaP countries; (g) maintain a balanced approach between tailor-made differentiation within the EaP and the inclusiveness, coherence and consistency of the multilateral framework, which remains a reference point for all EaP countries; avoid splitting the EaP along the lines of the different countries’ ambitions towards the EU; consider that the scope and depth of cooperation between the EU and the EaP countries is to be determined by the ambitions of the parties, as well as by their implementation of reforms; acknowledge that the AAs/DCFTAs that have been signed with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine are the evidence of a differentiated approach and should lead to further enhanced bilateral relationship formats and roadmaps based on the principle of ‘more for more’; (h) in light of a tailor-made approach, consider creating for the three associated countries an enhanced cooperation strategy, which could establish a reform and investment support programme in areas such as capacity building, transport, infrastructure, connectivity, energy, justice and the digital economy, which could later foresee an extension to the remaining EaP countries on the basis of individual assessments of EU reform commitments and progress achieved, bearing in mind the need to sustain the coherence of the EaP and in line with the inclusiveness principle; this dialogue could include meetings on the margins of the European Council with leaders of the associated countries on a structured basis, and regular participation of their representatives in the meetings of the European Council working groups and committees; (i) embark on a process to create a common economic space, leading towards integration with the four freedoms, that would facilitate deeper economic integration and convergence of EaP countries with EU policies and a deeper economic cooperation among the EaP countries themselves, using the path trodden with the Western Balkan countries; (j) launch additional measures for a deeper integration and further sectoral cooperation of the EaP countries with the EU and their participation in selected EU agencies, investment framework platforms and intra-EU programmes and initiatives, in full compliance with existing conditionalities and pursuant to the EU’s incentive-based approach, in order to achieve further convergence in the spirit of the ‘more for more’ principle and taking into account the best reform support practices; (k) provide EaP countries with greater financial assistance, and make it subject to conditions, including in the context of ongoing legislative negotiations on the external financial instruments for the period 2021-2027; ensure that such assistance should be tailored to the specific needs of the individual EaP countries under the guidance of the European Parliament via delegated acts, and used to implement activities under the EaP programme; acknowledge that the EU’s financial assistance is also an investment in the future, since it supports reforms that increase the economic and social stability of the EaP countries and lays down the basis for a successful future cooperation; (l) recognise the need for an additional political, administrative and financial support framework for the three associated countries within the overall EaP, based on individual approaches, that would address their specific structural reforms, modernisation and institution-building needs; note that this access to EU funding should be linked to reform commitments and should include a set of ambitious benchmarks; (m) prioritise the imperative of the ‘more for more’ democracy and rule of law principle in the light of recent developments in both the EU and EaP countries, and ensure that functioning and resilient democratic institutions, the rule of law, good governance, the fight against corruption and nepotism, media freedom and respect for human rights remain the key criteria and conditions for closer political partnership and financial assistance; (n) carry out regular impact assessments of the EU support programmes in order to increase their efficiency and apply timely adjustments; react faster to the deterioration of the rule of law and democratic accountability in the EaP countries and apply smart conditionality, including by linking the provision of macrofinancial assistance to democratisation and reforms, so as to prevent the partner governments from further backsliding; create conditions to be in a position to divert assistance in a given EaP country from the central authorities, if they do not adhere to commitments, to local authorities or civil society actors; (o) enhance the role of the European Parliament in the scrutiny and oversight of programmes via delegated acts in the application of the EU external financial instruments; (p) enhance parliamentary diplomacy and review the functioning of Euronest in order to enable it to reach its full potential;