Belgium, Brussels, Nov. 17 / Trend , Tarek Mahmoud /
Eastern Partnership is one of the most important initiatives of the European Union, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt told today the participants at the Eastern Partnership and Civil Society Forum.
Bildt, as representative of the Presidency of the EU, noted that representatives from the Civil societies will pass their recommendations on December 8 to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU and the Eastern Partner Countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.
The Swedish Presidency of the EU organized together with the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee the first Civil Society Forum meeting in the framework of the Eastern Partnership on 16 and 17 November.
Around 240 actors from civil society in the eastern partner countries will come together with the EU Member States to discuss the possibilities of helping to develop the Eastern Partnership which was launched at the EU Summit in Prague in May 2009.
The European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner welcomed also the dynamism and engagement of the civil society groups supporting the Eastern Partnership which includes all EU Member States and the six eastern partner countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus.
"Today the Partnership is entering into a new phase, thanks to you. You are now active partners in a debate which too often in the past has been dominated by governments: the discussion of how to strengthen democracy, good governance, economic reform, and energy security", she said.
There is, she added, a growing understanding and support for the values on which the EU and the Eastern Partnership is based, and this gives hope for more stability, security and prosperity in all our countries.
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