EU officially launched Eastern Partnership

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union officially launched its Eastern Partnership project at a summit in Prague. The project is expected to deepen the EU relations with some countries of the former Soviet Union and bring economic advantages to the EU and eastern European countries which are not EU members.



"It is impossible to pretend that there is nothing east of us. There are the countries there that have European ambitions," outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said after the summit.



This was probably the last such summit of the EU political elite held in Prague as many of the EU countries' leaders did not attend it.



It was also the last summit on such level chaired by Topolanek.



Although an EU-Southern Corridor summit organized within the Czech EU presidency will take place in Prague on Friday it will be held on a considerably lower level.



The European Union offered six former Soviet states incentives worth EUR600 million to promote stronger energy and economic ties and democratic reforms.



Many leaders of important EU countries were not present today in Prague when the EU Eastern Partnership project was launched.



The project is expected to strengthen economic, energy and political relations between 27 EU member states and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.



The leaders of France and Britain did not attend today's summit, for instance. The reasons for their absence considerably differ - starting with family reasons and ending with health ones.