From Vilnius to Riga: the Republic of Moldova and the Dynamics of the Eastern Partnership
From Vilnius to Riga: the Republic of Moldova and the Dynamics of the Eastern Partnership

Author(s): Eduard Ţugui
Subject(s): International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: IDIS VIITORUL Institutul pentru Dezoltare şi Initiative Sociale
Keywords: Eastern Partnership; Western Balkans;
Summary/Abstract: The Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius was the major European diplomatic event in 2013, even though it did not meet all the Euro-integration expectations of the Eastern Partnership countries or European chancelleries. The European officials’ meeting in the capital of Lithuania did not mean ad litteram another Helsinki 1999, with the European Council confirming the importance of the extension process and the beginning of accession negotiations for Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria and Malta. It does not have the significance and prospects of the November 2000Zagreb Summit, when the European Union launched the Stabilization and Association Process in the Western Balkans, but it still brings a new geopolitical reality to the post-Soviet space. The Vilnius Summit emotions are alive in Ukraine, even though the Kiev administration refused to sign the Association Agreement. The new realityis nevertheless important and is a turning point for the Republic of Moldova’s future, which requires equally important steps.

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