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Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia included in European Neighbourhood

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  • Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia included in European Neighbourhood

    Eurofunding.com, France
    July 5 2004

    Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia included in the European
    Neighbourhood Policy.


    Commissioner Janez Potočnik will visit Georgia, Azerbaijan and
    Armenia on 5-8 July. The visits follow the decision by the Council to
    include this countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy.

    Commissioner Janez Potočnik will visit Georgia on 5-6 July,
    Azerbaijan on 6-7 July and Armenia on 7-8 July. The visits follow the
    decision by the Council on 14 June to include the three Southern
    Caucasian countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy. Mr Potočnik
    will welcome the countries into the European Neighbourhood Policy and
    explain the significance of the initiative to his counterparts.

    Commissioner Potočnik will meet with the Presidents and the Prime
    Ministers of the three countries. He will also hold meetings with
    other government members, members of Parliament and opposition
    leaders. He will take the opportunity to address wider audiences,
    including civil and business societies, on the ENP and its
    significance for the Southern Caucasus.

    Mr Potočnik will explain the objectives of the ENP initiative to his
    counterparts and set out the next steps to be made by the countries
    in order to follow-up on the Council decision. The bilateral talks
    will also touch on the EU's relations with these countries more
    generally. Mr Potočnik will encourage the partners to put special
    emphasis on conflict resolution and prevention and underline the
    importance of strengthening regional cooperation.

    The visit takes place in the context of the EU's continuing efforts
    to strengthen political relations with the region and to be more
    actively involved in conflict prevention, confidence-building
    measures and post conflict rehabilitation.

    On 14 June the Council decided to include Georgia, Azerbaijan and
    Armenia in the European Neighbourhood Policy. At the same time, the
    Council endorsed the Commission's strategy for putting the ENP into
    action.

    The objective of the European Neighbourhood Policy is to share the
    benefits of the EU's 2004 enlargement with neighbouring countries -
    i.e. stability, security and well-being - in a way that is distinct
    from EU membership. It is designed to prevent the emergence of new
    dividing lines between the enlarged Union and its neighbours and to
    offer them an increasingly close relationship with the EU involving a
    significant degree of economic integration and a deepening of
    political cooperation.

    The ENP will also help address one of the strategic objectives the
    European Union set in the European Security Strategy in December
    2003, that of building security in our neighbourhood.

    Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia all have Partnership and Cooperation
    Agreements in force with the EU. The EU will consider the possibility
    of developing jointly agreed Action Plans, as foreseen by the ENP
    strategy, with the three countries on the basis of their individual
    merits.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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