Europarliament Drafts Resolution in Support of Georgia, Ukraine & Moldova

Nine days prior to the start of Eastern Partnership Summit, Europarliament made a resolution supporting the further integration of associated members: Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. As the Georgian Public Broadcaster reports, 519 European Parliament delegates voted for the countries to be members of the Customs Union, with 114 parliament members voting against and 47 abstentions. According to the information announced by the GPB, the resolution is to be sent to European Commission and European Council. 

The European Parliament members drafted recommendations prior to the Eastern Partnership Summit, according to which the support of three associated member countries, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, is to be increased. Following the initiative from European Parliament members, a trust fund is to be established to assist the small and medium size business development in the three countries. The debates concerning the summit resolution were held on November 14. 

“We propose very concrete steps to guarantee that our Eastern Partnership policy is a success - the Eastern Partnership Plus format, which includes a trust fund, a new European Investment Plan and financial support mechanism for the implementation of the Association Agreements. It is not dedicated to oligarchs, but to ordinary people in fields such as energy savings, public service or reconstruction,” Parliament’s co-rapporteur Laima Andrikienė said. 

“Accession to the customs union, energy union, digital union, the Schengen area and the gradual abolition of roaming charges provide a wide range of ways in which this Eastern Partnership can and should be developed further. The prerequisite for this is the implementation of reforms we agreed upon. The summit must not only talk about what has been achieved, but what needs to be done and where to do homework." Co-rapporteur Knut Fleckenstein said as quoted in the press release. 

By Nino Gugunishvili