The 3rd Eastern Partnership Ministerial was held on the 23rd of July 2012 in Brussels and brought together representatives of EU member states, of Eastern European Partner countries (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine), of the European Commission, of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and of the Civil Society Forum.

The meeting was chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton; the European Commission was represented by the Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Mr. Štefan Füle; the Georgian delegation was headed by the Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Mr. Giorgi Baramidze.

The meeting's participants discussed the basis of the Eastern partnership as defined in the Prague and Warsaw Declarations as well as prospects for making further progress and developing the initiative before the next Summit (to be held in Vilnius in 2013). The participants stated that they will be guided by the Eastern Partnership Roadmap in the process of guiding and monitoring the further implementation of objectives. They also highlighted the importance of common European values and the need to implement the main principles of the Eastern Partnership. The representatives of the partner countries underlined the value of the EU's role in the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Eastern Partnership region.

The ministers present agreed that the next Eastern Partnership Foreign Ministers' meeting in 2013 would be an occasion to review the implementation of the Roadmap and to discuss the future development of the Eastern Partnership in preparation for the next full summit in Vilnius.

24 July 2012

Press and Information Department