30.5.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 188/11
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;
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;
10.
stresses, nevertheless, that a redefinition of the Eastern Partnership’s policy objectives and its multilateral architecture is needed to keep the Partnership prospering;
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;
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;
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;
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;
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;
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
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;
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;