Although the vast majority of EU countries welcome deeper integration with Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, their “joint trio” initiative has gained more support in Eastern and Central Europe, while the European Commission and Western member states are still hesitant to adopt the term Undecided.
“We welcome the trio’s initiative to promote coordination among relevant partners and with Brussels. This can lead to the sharing of best practices in reforms, implementation and a broader future agenda,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council on Monday ( (July 19) said in the opening speech at the Batumi International Conference.
This is the first time a senior EU official has used the term self-proclaimed “trio” to refer to Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. These three countries have recently formally joined forces to promote a deeper relationship with Brussels and eventually join.
“These three countries-sometimes referred to as the’three countries’-are the EU’s close neighbors and partners in the Eastern Partnership,” a spokesperson for the European Commission told EURACTIV, which seems to be the first time an EU executive has used the term .
The trio formed the Eastern Partnership (EaP) with Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, who did not intend to join the group.
The spokesperson stated that EaP “Will continue to be an inclusive and flexible policy applicable to all EAP countries, “allowing a large number of differentiated and tailored approaches.”
“All our neighbors are sovereign and independent. We respect their choices, foreign policy priorities and strategic goals. In this regard, we welcome initiatives to strengthen coordination between them and with the EU,” the spokesperson added .
Good east wind
However, there are signs that the European Commission is facing pressure from some member states, especially Eastern and Central European countries, which have long been the main supporters of the EU’s closer relations with its eastern neighbors.
When asked by EURACTIV, several diplomats from the region supported the initiative, but emphasized that it should remain within the current scope of the EU’s relations with its eastern neighbors.
“Lithuania welcomes the Trio format, which clearly states their common goals and allows for coordinated efforts,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabriellius Landsbergis told EURACTIV in an exclusive comment.
“We believe that the principles of differentiation and’do more’ should be applied in a non-discriminatory manner in the Eastern Partnership policy. In this case, the Associated Trio should be regarded as a champion,” he added.
When asked about the long-term vision of joining the EU, he said: “The process of joining the EU is complicated, but Trio has proved their willingness by implementing difficult and costly reforms. We believe that we must give them membership in return. them.”
Andrzej Sadoś, the top Polish diplomat in Brussels, told this website that his country welcomes the Trio initiative, which he believes is “within the existing” Eastern neighboring country policy framework, they have more in-depth contact with the EU Timely and clear proposals.
The Permanent Representative stated that at the EaP summit scheduled to be held in December, Warsaw expects the European Union to “show an ambitious approach to the future of the EaP policy and provide a fully differentiated combination”.
When asked whether the EU should provide membership to the three countries, Sados said that “the expectations of the three associated countries should be taken into consideration” and emphasized that reconciliation with Europe lies in the implementation of existing commitments and continuous reforms.
He added: “Once the EU is also ready to expand, the implementation of these bilateral agreements will enable our partners to initiate a formal integration process.”
Another EU diplomat from the region is more cautious. They stated that the trio is “a step in the right direction”, but emphasized that the initiative must remain within the Eastern Partnership platform, which should become the “pillar” of the EU’s relations with its neighbors.
Western cautious
On the other hand, Western European member states have so far seemed to adhere to the European Commission’s line.
An EU diplomat-avoiding the use of the term “trio”-said that their country supports “more in-depth cooperation guided by the’many-to-many’ approach” with these three countries, but did not mention that new forms are also possible Used in their relationship with Brussels.
Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden welcomes the “incentive measures between the three countries to deepen European integration” and at the same time welcomes “more cooperation among the three countries”, and emphasizes the “importance of the Eastern Partnership as an inclusive and unified policy”. Neighboring countries in the east. “
Another diplomat said, “Before creating any new tools or formats, it is necessary to make full use of the opportunities provided by the respective association agreements between the EU and these countries, whether on a bilateral or multilateral level. [within the Eastern Partnership]. “
They added that while further differentiation is possible, it is “not through the establishment of fixed groups that may endanger other partner countries.”
The idea of creating a tripartite format for the three associated countries has been circulating for several years.
The realization of the trio’s vision will take some time because “the EU has been slow to change its geopolitical attitude,” European Parliament member Andrius Kubilius told EURACTIV.
The former Prime Minister of Lithuania has always been one of the biggest supporters of the “trio” strategy in the European Parliament. He expressed the hope that people now have more understanding of the need to invest in the integration and success of the region, which can be used as an “inspiration.” “. For the people of Belarus and Russia, they began to demand democratic changes in their country. “
Benchmarks
One area that seems to be cautiously supported among EU countries is the establishment of a monitoring mechanism aimed at tracking the progress of reforms.
During Batumi, Michel suggested introducing “competitive benchmarks for key reforms” among relevant partners, which he believed would help “stimulate reform momentum, increase mutual support between partners, and help ensure you Relations with the EU have become closer.”
None of the diplomats questioned by EURACTIV opposed this idea, although some stated that they must look at the details of any proposed system.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis acknowledged the differences between the three associated countries, saying that his country believes that “competition leads to improvement.”
“We competed with Latvia and Estonia before joining, and achieved impressive results,” he added.
“This is a good idea,” said Kubilius, a member of the European Parliament, adding that “it would be better to establish a competitive benchmark between the three countries and the Western Balkans,” which are currently waiting in line to join the European Union.
“Of course the committee should do this, and there are ways to do it,” said Michael Emerson, a senior researcher at the CEPS think tank based in Brussels.
According to the researchers, although the committee’s current report on the Balkans and the three countries already contains the necessary information, they “need to be upgraded with a simple quantitative rating system based on the committee’s understanding of the performance of the relevant countries in the following areas.” All’chapters’ obtained. “
However, he emphasized that benchmarking should be done by the committee, “because only they combine knowledge and’not interested’ to support this or that country.”
He added: “If the trio does it by themselves, then the temptation of each country to promote its own interests will be irresistible.”
A spokesperson for the European Commission said, “In the process of working to implement the relevant reforms, it is obviously reasonable to study the similarities between the relevant partners that have signed ambitious agreements with the EU.”
The spokesperson added that the committee hopes that “associated countries will lead by example” and is ready to discuss “whether any further competitive benchmarks, such as the implementation of commitments under associated agreements, are useful”.
[Edited by Georgi Gotev/Josie Le Blond]
