From Riga to Brussels: Georgia’s hopes for Eastern Partnership. EPC Policy Brief 20 November 2017

摘要

The Eastern Partnership’s fifth summit will take place this Friday in Brussels, bringing together the six EaP states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) and EU institutions and member states. As one of the biggest success stories of the Eastern Partnership, and with EU membership still being its main foreign policy goal, Georgia wants the summit to deliver an ambitious declaration that sets out long-term objectives and reaffirms the EU’s strong commitment to the region. However, given the EU’s current inward-looking nature and the lack of appetite for further enlargement, such a long-term vision seems unlikely to materialise at the summit. Therefore Georgia will need to adopt a pragmatic approach, focusing on deepening EU integration in all possible areas, while at the same time addressing its own democratic shortcomings.