Polish FM urges EU open-door policy toward Eastern Partnership states

Speaking in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, Waszczykowski said that countries in the EU’s Eastern Partnership should be able to participate in the work of the bloc's agencies and institutions as observers.

Waszczykowski was in Baku on Wednesday for talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, part of a three-day trip that also includes stops in Georgia and Armenia.

After the talks, Waszczykowski told reporters that one of the main topics discussed was expectations ahead of an Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels in November. He added that Poland was interested in ensuring that the Eastern Partnership is kept "high on the EU agenda."

In April, the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group countries, which brings together Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, voiced “strong support” for the Eastern Partnership, which they said was key to stability and economic growth in Eastern Europe.

At a meeting in Warsaw at the time, the four foreign ministers said the EU should offer a “European perspective” to interested Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine – during the November summit in Brussels.

The Eastern Partnership, an initiative by Poland and Sweden, was launched in 2009 to forge closer political and economic ties between the EU and its eastern neighbours. (gs/pk)

Source: PAP