The GEO-POWER-EU project has released a new report, which analyses to what extent and how the Eastern Partnership Policy (EaP) can respond to today’s changing geopolitical environment to strengthen the EU’s role as a geopolitical actor.
The report problematizes the continued relevance of the Eastern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the EU’s decision to grant a clear European perspective to Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The central question the deliverable raises is whether the EaP can evolve into a strategically oriented framework, equipped with flexible, security-conscious instruments to address both EU interests and partner countries’ needs or whether a shift toward differentiation, bilateralism, and sectoral cooperation will define the EU’s future Eastern policy.
Based on 65 elite interviews with analysts, journalists, civil society representatives, policymakers, and EU officials, the study examines the contrasting perspectives of EaP partner countries, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan and the EU institutions and member states.
The report concludes that only by adapting to new geopolitical realities, embedding security cooperation, enhancing transparency, and linking conditionality to democratic progress, can the EU strengthen its credibility and remain an effective actor in its Eastern Neighbourhood.
📥 Download the full report (PDF).
*Featured Image: New Eastern Europe