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
Date: 2013-03-20
Institutions: European Commission, High Representative of the Union
Subjects: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, European neighbourhood policy, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, democratisation, economic integration, economic reform, educational reform, institutional reform, political cooperation, political reform, sustainable development, trade cooperation

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION FOR
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND
SECURITY POLICY

Brussels, 20.3.2013  
SWD(2013) 85 final 

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 

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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 

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

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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  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. 

the  European  Commission, 

the  European  Parliament, 

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 

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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 

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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. 

5  

 
 
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 

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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  

involved 

to  ‘core 

institutions’ 

targeted  assistance 

In  2012,  CIB  programmes  were  in  place  in  all  EaP  countries  except  Belarus.  They 
provide 
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 

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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.  

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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. 

9  

 
 
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 

10  

 
 
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  20123  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 

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. 

11  

 
 
                                                 
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 
institutions  also  provided 
international  organisations  and 
assistance via various channels. 

international  financing 

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. 

12  

 
 
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  

13  

 
 
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 

14  

 
 
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 

15  

 
 
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 

16  

 
 
 
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 
institutions,  youth 
organisations, youth workers and young people. 

through  regional  cooperation  between  policy 

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 

17  

 
 
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 

18  

 
 
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 

19  

 
 
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  Mayors4  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 

4 www.eumayors.eu. 

20  

 
 
                                                 
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 wa s 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 

21  

 
 
 
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. 

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