Program “Eastern Part­ner­ship Plus”

It is remark­able that Ukraine is making progress in imple­menting 7 EU Commis­sion prior­i­ties despite Russia’s ongoing war of aggres­sion. In his policy brief, Leonid Litra empha­sises why the EU enlarge­ment and deepening process should take place simul­ta­ne­ously and argues why the EU should start accession nego­ti­a­tions with Ukraine this year.

On the 8th of November the European Commis­sion will for the first time ever present an enlarge­ment report with recom­men­da­tions on Georgia. A few weeks later, the European Council will take a political decision on whether Georgia will be granted candidate status or will have to wait until autumn 2024. In his policy brief, Ivane Chkhik­vadze analyses the current state of EU reforms and makes concrete recom­men­da­tions for action.

The Moldovan expert, Denis Cenusa, analyses in his polcy brief that the Republic of Moldova has made progress in imple­menting the 9 prior­i­ties of the EU Commis­sion, but also points out the obstacles and short­com­ings, espe­cially in the area of the judiciary and the fight against corrup­tion. Never­the­less, he recom­mends that, given the geopo­lit­ical and strategic reasons, the EU should start accession nego­ti­a­tions with Ukraine and Moldova as well as with Georgia in December 2023.

Unlike Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia has not been given candidate status to EU-Member­­ship in June 2022. In order to receive it, the country must fulfill twelve recom­men­da­tions of the EU Commis­sion, including reforms in the areas of deoli­garchiza­tion and anti-corrup­­tion. In his policy brief, Sergi Kapanadze analyzes the current status in both areas and makes concrete recom­men­da­tions for action.

After the EU granted Ukraine candidate status in June 2022, the country is making progress in the areas of anti-corrup­­tion and deoli­garchiza­tion despite the war. In her policy brief, Tetiana Sevchuk analyzes the current state of reforms in Ukraine and what concrete steps are still needed in imple­menting these EU prior­i­ties so that accession nego­ti­a­tions can begin.

After granting Moldova EU candidate status, the EU now expects serious reforms — espe­cially in the areas of de-oligarchiza­­­tion and anti-corrup­­tion. In a policy brief, Moldovan expert Denis Cenusa evaluates Moldova’s progress in meeting these requirements.

The geostrategic potential of the Black Sea region has often been over­looked. Natalia Stercul analyses why this is changing in the face of the war, what economic perspec­tives are open to the EU and what part the Republic of Moldova plays in this.

This policy brief gives an overview of the current state of the Ukrainian energy system and the chal­lenges that emerged because of the war, but also the chances for the sustain­able recon­struc­tion of the energy sector. In order to modernise the economy on a sustain­able basis Ukraine needs signif­i­cant private invest­ments. At the same time, the large-scale recon­struc­tion of the energy sector offers oppor­tu­ni­ties for German and EU companies to partic­i­pate in the “green” devel­op­ment of the Ukrainian economy.

The EU wants to promote the rule of law in Ukraine, but what external measures are needed to achieve this and what are the Ukrainian realities? This is analyzed by Maryna Rabi­novych in the LibMod policy paper.

The EU must become an autonomous foreign policy actor and use its enlarge­ment policy to address the chal­lenges posed by Russia’s aggres­sion. A Policy Paper by Laure Delcour and Kataryna Wolczuk.

The danger of Russian aggres­sion in the Republic of Moldova is real, comments Dymutru Minzarari. He proposes concrete steps for Germany and the EU to ensure effective support in the field of security policy.

Russia’s war of aggres­sion against Ukraine raises questions about the security of Eastern European countries seeking member­ship in the EU and NATO — espe­cially Ukraine. Mykhailo Samus analyses the missing security dimension and necessary changes in Western security policy.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine shows Russia’s impe­ri­alist expan­sionist strate­gies, Georgia became a primary target of this power politics in 2008. Sergi Kapanadze describes what steps the West should take for a new and robust security strategy within the Eastern Partnership.

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship Plus” we publish a series of input papers on the topic: Per­spec­tives and Path­ways to EU Can­di­date Status for Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic...

As part of our project “Eastern Part­ner­ship Plus” we publish a series of input papers on the topic: Per­spec­tives and Path­ways to EU Can­di­date Status for Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic...