Charles Michel, President of the European Council, chaired the meeting. President Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, represented the EU. They were joined by High Representative/Vice-President, Josep Borrell.

The eastern partners present at the summit comprised Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Belarus has suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership but the EU continues to cooperate with the people of Belarus.

At the end of the summit, the leaders adopted a Joint declaration (a national declaration by Azerbaijan should be taken into account).

The leaders stressed that their partnership remains firmly based on common fundamental values, mutual interests and shared ownership, responsibility, inclusivity, differentiation and mutual accountability.

The Eastern Partnership seeks to foster stability, prosperity and mutual cooperation, and to advance the commitment to the necessary reforms and to address the global and regional challenges.

The EaP in figures

• EU-EaP trade exceeded €65 billion in 2020 (+22% in 10 years)
• the EU is the number-one trade partner for four out of six EaP countries
• the EU has supported over 185 000 SMEs in EaP countries, creating or sustaining 1.65 million jobs
• over 80 000 exchange opportunities have been provided to young people
• almost 50% of EaP local authorities have committed to cutting CO2 emissions

Shared values

The leaders emphasised their joint determination to uphold the fundamental values they share. The EU remains committed in its support to the territorial integrity within their internationally recognised borders, independence, and sovereignty of all eastern partners. The leaders welcomed the EU’s efforts, enhanced engagement and strengthened role in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and confidence building.

They reaffirmed the sovereign right of each partner to choose the level of ambition and its goals in its relations with the EU. The EaP is not directed against anyone, but designed to contribute to peace and prosperity for all countries in the neighbourhood.

Solidarity

The leaders acknowledged the continued commitment of the EU and its member states to support partner countries in addressing the pandemic, the vaccination process, to fight against anti-vaccine disinformation and to foster longer-term health resilience.

The EU and its member states have provided €2.5 billion to support partner countries in tackling the coronavirus health crisis and long-term socio-economic recovery.

€75 million was made available to support the vaccination process and access to vaccines.

EaP policy beyond 2020

The leaders committed to enhancing their cooperation based on the EaP policy beyond 2020.

The five long-term objectives of the EaP policy beyond 2020 emphasise recovery, resilience and reform as key building blocks of the future agenda. They include, in particular the development of resilient, sustainable and integrated economies, ensuring accountable institutions, the rule of law and security, delivering a resilient digital transformation to name a few.

They are accompanied by an ambitious €2.3 billion regional economic investment plan (including country flagship initiatives) to support post-COVID-19 socio-economic recovery and strengthen longer-term resilience by accelerating the green and digital transformations. The plan is estimated to leverage up to €17 billion in public and private investments.

More information

Eastern Partnership summit, 15 December 2021 (the meeting page)

Eastern Partnership Summit launches new and ambitious agenda (press release of 16/12/2021)