| The Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Four Group (V4) held an extended meeting of foreign ministers with the participation of six member countries of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership programme – Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan – the three Baltic States, two partner states of the current EU Trio Presidency, Spain and Belgium, as well as Sweden and the European Commissioner in charge of Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy. 
In the first round of the meeting, Foreign Ministers of the Visegrad Four – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – exchanged views on opportunities and future plans for cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership. Documenting the results of their consultations they adopted a joint declaration in which participants confirming their commitment to the basic principles of the Eastern Partnership (democracy, rule of law, basic human rights and freedoms, a market economy, sustainable development, good governance) and for the continued dynamic development of the initiative of the initiative. They offered assistance, expertise and experience to partner countries in the areas of reforming democratic processes, constitutional law and measures to strengthen the market economy. They pledged support for any motion resulting in the further expansion of the Eastern Partnership’s financial resources. The Ministers agreed to launch the informal “Group of Friends” of the Eastern Partnership, consisting of non-EU countries willing to support or participate in the implementation of the Partnership. The Visegrad Group supported the idea of holding an informal meeting of Eastern Partnership foreign ministers in Poland in May of this year and expressed their hope that the meeting will allow for maintaining the momentum of the initiative and giving it a strong political impetus. With the objective of carrying the Eastern Partnership forward and guaranteeing an appropriate attention to and engagement of EU Member States as well as partner countries within it, the Ministers agreed to continue the implementation of the initiative during the period of the Hungarian and the Polish EU Presidency with sustained dynamism.  After the Visegrad Four meeting, the foreign ministers were joined by all participants in an extended meeting to discuss how the Eastern Partnership could be filled with more content. They were in agreement that focus should be given to three main areas. The democratisation of partner countries, efforts to build a market economy and steps to enhance human rights must be endorsed; or, as Foreign Minister Balázs put it, the countries must be given assistance so that they can complete their state-building process. The second important area is economic cooperation, including adoption of free trade agreements as well as energy and transport link-ups. The third point of focus is the mobility of citizens, possible elements of which are agreements to ease visa regimes and developing the system of border crossings. Participants of the meeting initiated by Hungary aimed to put new proposals and initiatives on the table of the European Commission as well as to persuade other EU Member States to present concrete projects and adequate financing to fill the Eastern Partnership programme with real content. The long-term objective is to advance stability, economic prosperity and the European approximation of the six countries party to the Eastern Partnership. On the sidelines of the meeting FM Balázs received Audronius Azubalis, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, and Stefan Füle, the European Commissioner in charge of Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy.  Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Azubalis only took office a few weeks ago, so this was the first bilateral meeting between the two diplomatic leaders.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister expressed his appreciation for the organisation of the extended V4 meeting and for the invitation of the Baltic Republics, which he deemed very useful. Mr Balázs and Mr Azubalis qualified bilateral relations as outstanding. They confirmed readiness for cooperation between Lithuania’s OSCE and Hungary’s EU Presidency due in 2011. Mr Azubalis highly commended Hungarian support for the European Humanitarian University operating in Vilnius, as well as its contribution to the activities of the Community of Democracies. Mr Balázs recalled his visit to Lithuania in January 2010, and his participation in the conference on security policy held in Trakai, which he assessed to have been very useful. The European Union’s Baltic Sea Strategy can be regarded as an example for the formation of the Danube Region Strategy, he added.  Progress regarding the European Union’s enlargement, its future, as well as the eastern neighbourhood policy were in the focus of talks between Mr Balázs and the European Commissioner in charge of Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Stefan Füle.
The Commissioner emphasised that in order to be able to manage global challenges, the Union must pay particular attention to its neighbours. It is necessary to win public support in Members States for the enlargement process, which is considered to be one of the most successful foreign policy instruments of the EU. This requires a presentation of the tangible results of the past and future advantages in enlargement in a widely comprehensible form. Commissioner Füle expects a boost in the enlargement process with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Croatia, upon meeting criteria, can soon become a Member, and increased attention is being paid to the preparations of the Western Balkans candidate and potential candidate countries. Mr Füle and Mr Balázs agreed that further enlargement with regard to Turkey constitutes a question of credibility both on the side of the candidate and that of the Union. We expect Turkey to meet the entire set of accession criteria and the EU will honour its own commitments. Foreign Minister Balázs confirmed Hungary’s full-fledged support for the Union’s enlargement process. The issue will be regarded as a priority during the Hungarian EU Presidency in 2011, especially in respect of support for the Western Balkan countries’ integration endeavours. We expect the Commission to continue to play an initiating role both towards the Western Balkans region and the countries of the Eastern Partnership. (March 2, 2010) The Joint statement of the foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group can be read here. |