LINKS Europe, in collaboration of The City of The Hague and with the support of The Hague Humanity Hub, cordially invites you to participate in a one-day conference with the theme: ‘The EU and its’ Eastern neighbourhood’. The event is the third in our series, Conversations on the future of Europe in the World, and aims to contribute to the debate within the framework of The Conference on the Future of Europe.
Eastern Europe is the EU’s back yard. Geographically it shares the continent; historically it is connected through centuries of interaction, religious affinity and more. EU foreign policy cannot succeed unless it is successful first in the eastern neighbourhood. Whilst that is possible, it is by no means a certainty. Between the EU and Russia – Europe’s giant neighbour to the East – are the Eastern Partnership countries. Three of them – Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine – are EU Associated states with aspirations for EU membership; the three others have closer relations with Russia, with Belarus sharing a Union State; Armenia being a member of the CSTO and EEAU; and Azerbaijan, whilst a non-aligned country, also claiming a strategic relationship with Russia.
The EU has since 2009 sought to manage its relationship with these diverse group of countries through the Eastern Partnership with mixed results.
This one-day conference, coming as it does on the eve of a crucial EU-Eastern Partnership summit in December, will take stock of how this important and costly EU instrument has performed, and how it can work in the future.
More information on the conference and the detailed program can be found here.
