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EU to pump extra â‚¬350 million to Eastern Partnership

10 March 2009 10:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vugar Israfilov â€“ APA-Economics. The EU Commission has called on EU nations to provide more aid for ex-Soviet states of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia as part of a proposed "Eastern Partnership" program aimed at making the bloc’s Eastern doorstep more stable.
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Monday, Feb. 23, that the European Union has a "crucial strategic interest" in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Unveiled by the European Commission last December, the "Eastern Partnership" foresees granting some 350 million euros ($448 million) in extra help between now and 2013 to the EU’s ex-Soviet neighbors.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Ferrero-Waldner said it is "clearly imperative" for the EU to step up its efforts in the region after the Georgia-Russia military conflict in August 2008 and the Ukraine-Russia gas dispute in January 2009.

"The ’Eastern Partnership’ is a very timely initiative that needs to be implemented," Ferrero-Waldner said, adding that problems in Eastern Europe "affect us directly."

Ferrero-Waldner said she was confident that the EU member states would approve at a March summit the 350-million-euro funding on top of the 250 million euros (320 million dollars) already allocated.