The European Policy Centre’s Eastern Promises programme is the leading Brussels forum for debate and discussion regarding the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood.
The EPC’s extensive network of experts and contacts allows Eastern Promises to attract the most influential figures and experts from the region, as well as from the EU and beyond.
Our events attract a wide range of speakers: heads of state, foreign ministers, opposition figures, business leaders, NGO representatives, leading academics and other experts. The thematic range is also wide, covering security, political and economic issues in the countries of the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood.
Eastern Promises focuses in particular on the EU’s Eastern neighbours (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) – both within the context of the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) and on broader issues addressed in bilateral and regional fora – through a series of public meetings, expert roundtables and publications. It also focuses on Russia, both in terms of its relations with the EU and its foreign policy more broadly. Eastern Promises aims to analyse the core challenges facing the EU and its Eastern neighbours, and to stimulate debate between the EU institutions.
Within the context of the Eastern Promises programme, the EPC, in cooperation with the Romanian Center for European Policies (CRPE), is a partner in the
EU-Moldova Think Tank Dialogue.
Priorities
Eastern Partnership & EU engagement in Eastern Europe
Eastern Promises focuses on developments within the EaP, paying particular attention to the key challenges that must be overcome if the policy is to succeed in achieving its goals of increasing prosperity, stability, security and democracy in the region. This will include relations of the EaP countries with the EU, domestic developments, energy policy and foreign policy more broadly.
In 2013 Eastern Promises will closely monitor developments in the EaP countries in the run up to the third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. This will include observing progress in Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) negotiations, as well as the following the pace of political and economic reforms in these countries.
Security and stability in the South Caucasus & Caspian region
The South Caucasus is a region of increasing geostrategic importance. It is a natural transport and energy corridor, and is of crucial importance to EU energy diversification projects.
However, at the same time it remains plagued by a whole of set of issues, including territorial, ethnic and identify conflicts, economic underdevelopment, corruption, inadequate governance and weak rule of law.
The EPC’s activities on the region aim to increase understanding of the South Caucasus/Caspian in Brussels (and indeed beyond), thereby helping to shape a more dynamic EU approach.
Eastern Promises will focus on the development of bilateral relations between the EU and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as on broader issues related to security, foreign policy, energy and confliction resolution.
Eastern Promises is kindly supported by:
BP
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Renaissance Foundation, Ukraine (for the Mobility/Visa Free Project)
This project is coordinated by
Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst.