The Six Ordinary Session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly-Eastern Partnership has today started at the premises of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
A meeting of the Euronest PA Secretariat gave a start to the session. The event is supposed to be attended by representatives of the European Parliament and parliaments of the Eastern Partnership member countries (Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova). The key themes of the sitting and the session are as follows:
- Free, fair and evenhanded mass media (media freedom and integrity),
- Youth unemployment,
- Energy component in 2015 UN Paris Climate Change Agreement implementation,
- Women in the labour market,
- Cybersecurity in the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries.
From October the 29th till November the 1st the Ukrainian Parliament will be hosting the Six Ordinary Session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.
October the 30th will bring meetings of four Assembly’s committees -- Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy, Committee on Economic Integration, Legal Approximation and Convergence with EU Policies, Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society, Committee on Energy Security.
The next two days the Euronest PA plenary sessions are to take place.
It is for the first time to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to host such a high-level Euronest event at its premises.
The European Council prepared a proposal for an “Eastern Partnership” (EaP), emphasising the need for a differentiated approach respecting the character of the ENP as a single and coherent policy framework.
The EaP should bring a lasting political message of EU solidarity, alongside additional, tangible support for their democratic and market-oriented reforms and the consolidation of their statehood and territorial integrity. This serves the stability, security and prosperity of the EU, partners and indeed the entire continent.
The guiding principle should be to offer the maximum possible, taking into account political and economic realities and the state of reforms of the partner concerned, bringing visible benefits for the citizens of each country. An essential component of the EaP will be a commitment from the EU to accompany more intensively partners' individual reform efforts. The EaP will be based on mutual commitments to the rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights, respect for and protection of minorities, and the principles of the market economy and sustainable development.
Joint ownership is essential, and both sides of the EaP have their responsibilities. Only with strong political will on both sides will the EaP achieve its objective of political association and economic integration.
Work to achieve these goals should go ahead on a bilateral and a multilateral track:
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The bilateral track will be
designed to create a closer relationship between the EU and each of the partner
countries to foster their stability and prosperity in our mutual interest. It
will include the upgrading of contractual relations towards association
agreements; the prospect of negotiations to put in place deep and comprehensive
free trade areas with each country and greater support to meet the related
requirements, leading to the establishment of a network of FTAs that can grow
into a Neighbourhood Economic Community in the longer term; progressive visa
liberalisation in a secure environment; deeper cooperation to enhance the
energy security of the partners and the EU; and support for economic and social
policies designed to reduce disparities within each partner country and across
borders. A new Comprehensive Institution-Building (CIB) programme will be
needed to improve the capacity of each partner to undertake the necessary
reforms.
-The multilateral track will provide a new framework where common challenges can be addressed. Four policy platforms are proposed below, on democracy, good governance and stability; economic integration and convergence with EU policies; energy security; and contacts between people.