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BAKU: CIS chief threatens ex-Soviet states over joining EU program

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  • BAKU: CIS chief threatens ex-Soviet states over joining EU program

    CIS chief threatens ex-Soviet states over joining EU program

    http://www.azernews.az/site/shownews.php? news_id=12547
    20-05-2009 14:50:32

    The executive secretary of CIS, a Russian-dominated group of ex-Soviet
    nations, has warned that the member countries participating in the
    European Union`s Eastern Partnership program "may face difficulties."
    Sergei Lebedev told a news conference in Minsk last week that "bringing
    legislation into compliance with EU demands will require revisiting the
    agreements reached within the CIS, and then these countries will have
    to make a choice."
    "As a person who is well-versed on the state of the economies, I can
    see that, at this stage, the EU will not be able to compensate the
    losses that countries might incur as a result of their participation in
    the Eastern Partnership," the Russian diplomat said, according to local
    media.
    Lebedev added that program participants would not benefit, even from
    "minute assistance" worth 600 million euros being offered by the EU.
    Lebedev hopes that the participation of six former Soviet republics in
    the initiative "will have no impact on their involvement within the CIS
    and they will remain members of the Commonwealth."
    The Eastern Partnership, floated by Poland and Sweden, covers
    Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. The
    participating states signed a declaration on joining the program with
    the 27-member bloc in Prague on May 7. It envisages simplified visa
    regulations, free trade and closer energy cooperation, although
    membership in the bloc is not on the agenda at this point. The
    participating countries are required to bring their laws into
    compliance with EU standards, pursue economic reforms and bolster
    democratic development.
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