ABSTRACT
The Eastern Partnership initiative (EaP) was launched by the European Union (EU) in 2009 at the Prague Summit as a means of providing a forum in which the EU could discuss with the post-Soviet states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine issues related to trade agreements and economic collaboration between the EaP and the EU. The EU is committed to building bilateral relations with each of the six partners offering a differential and inclusive framework that involves all of them. The policy developments during the period 2015-20 are guided by the 2015 review of the European Neighbourhood Policy and by the 2016 EU Global Strategy. The main policy goals are related to achieving good governance, economic development, wider connectivity and a stronger society. The European Neighbourhood Instrument is used to ensure the implementation of these financial goals; between 2014 and 2017 the EaP countries had already received €2.8 billion of EU funds.
