PM Tusk meets Swedish counterpart in Warsaw

Map showing Eastern Partnership countries (in orange).

Talking at a press conference after the meeting, Tusk said that thanks to the Eastern Partnership, millions of citizens of six post-Soviet republics, including Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, and Moldova, have a better chance of integrating with the EU.

“This is very strong support by both countries for the future of millions of people who feel as if they are Europeans and they need a clear perspective,” Tusk said, adding that “thanks to Polish-Swedish cooperation this perspective has become more real.”

At the meeting, Prime Minister Tusk also underlined that the Eastern partnership is a “good tool” for Eastern European countries to come closer to western standards.

Tusk also raised hopes that the Ukraine would sign an association agreement with the EU during Poland’s rotating presidency of the EU Council.

While the agreement would become a basis for continuing cooperation on the Brussels-Kyiv axis, Moscow has also tempted politicians from Poland’s eastern neighbour with a customs arrangement that would encompass Russia, Kazakhstan, and possibly Ukraine.

The Eastern Partnership programme, which aims to bring countries to the east of the EU closer to the workings of the 27-nation bloc, is heralded as one of Poland’s priorities for the upcoming EU Council presidency, with a summit planned to be held for its members at the end of September. (jb)