From the Vilnius Summit to the Riga Summit: Challenges and opportunities of the Eastern Partnership

Kuznecova, Irina, Diana Potjomkina, Martins Vargulis. From the Vilnius Summit to the Riga Summit: Challenges and Opportunities of the Eastern Partnership. Riga: Latvian Institute of International Affairs, 2013.

This paper is envisaged as a discussion paper, briefly recapitulating the current state of affairs in relations between the EU and its neighbours and, most importantly, posing further questions. Its aim is not to provide a detailed monitoring or a detailed overview, but rather to promote informed discussion by pointing out the most relevant developments taking place here and now. It is already time to look beyond the upcoming Vilnius summit and towards the next EaP summit in Riga in 2015, and to consider the further steps to be taken there. The structure of this paper is as follows: the first section provides a general analysis of each of the EaP partner countries, their respective relations with the EU and the direction and depth of the “Europeanization” process. The second part goes on to illustrate current and long term challenges for the EU that could slow down or even impede the development of the EaP initiative as a whole. The paper concludes with suggestions on what a successful EaP would really look like, and which aspects and fields of activity should be emphasized in order to promote more beneficial cooperation with Eastern partners.