On 7 May 2015 the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European
Union in close cooperation with the Commission organized the first Eastern
Partnership Ministerial Meeting on Trade. The meeting was co-chaired by Latvian
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Edgars Rinkēvičs, and European Commissioner for
Trade Ms Cecilia Malmström.
The EU Trade Ministers and their Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarus,
Georgian, Moldovan and Ukrainian counterparts met in the afternoon of 7 May to
discuss the achievements of the Eastern Partnership in the area of trade, as
well as the opportunities and challenges to the further development of a
successful trade dimension of the Eastern Partnership.
In light of the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga and the
ongoing European Neighbourhood Policy review, Trade Ministers exchanged views
on current trade relations between the EU and the Eastern Partners. The
Ministers also discussed the possibilities of further cooperation, taking into
account the diverse interests of the Eastern Partners with regards to their
trade relations with the EU.
The Presidency and the Commission stressed the importance of trade as a
part of the Eastern Partnership policy and underlined the need to strive for
inclusive and sustainable economic development. The participants acknowledged
the importance of trade and increased market opportunities for creating growth
and jobs.
They welcomed the start of the implementation of Association Agreements
with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, urging to continue the
reform process. They noted positively the increase in trade between the EU and
Georgia and the Republic of Moldova respectively, since the application of the
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) and looked forward to the
provisional application of the DCFTA with Ukraine starting on 1 January 2016.
The Presidency and the Commission expressed respect to individual
choices of Eastern Partners, and confirmed readiness to work on strengthened
but differentiated trade relations with each of the Partners.
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