During EU Council’s session in Brussels on February 23, the foreign ministers of the EU member states discussed the launch of the EU's Eastern Partnership proposed to six post-Soviet countries – Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, BelTA learnt from the EU press service. “The ministers have supported the EU Council’s resolution of December 2008 on establishing the Eastern Partnership. The ministers also noted that there are some issues such as visa liberalization, the relationship between the Eastern Partnership and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, the participation of third countries and project’s financing which will require further consideration as part of the process of developing and implementing the Eastern Partnership,” the press service noted. The relevant bodies of the EU Council will start preparing the European Union’s spring summit which is expected to establish the Eastern Partnership initiative. The Eastern Partnership is a multinational forum which includes the EU member states and six post-Soviet countries – Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The goal of the Eastern Partnership policy is to facilitate the negotiations on setting up free trade zones for services and agricultural products, partnership agreements and visa agreements.
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