On the occasion of the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga on May 21-22, 2015, the Center for EU Enlargement Studies published its position paper "Eastern Partnership beyond the Riga Summit: Rethinking Cooperation". The paper calls for the EU to approach the challenges both the region and its own policy face in a strategic manner. The new approach should be differentiated but should remain inclusive. Mobility, trade and investment, good governance and security should be at its core. It should engage and empower civil society, while pursuing an honest and clear communication strategy. Last but not least, the EU should grant the perspective of membership to the partner countries conditional upon them meeting the Copenhagen criteria.

The position paper is based on the discussions and conclusions of the conference „Eastern Partnership and Its Prospects” organized earlier this month together with the Embassy of Latvia in Hungary as part of their EU Presidency program and with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Budapest.

The report from the conference has been published on CEU’s website.
You can also check out photos in an album on our Facebook page.

Videos about the full conference can be found online:
Opening remarks
Keynote speeches
Panel 1 - Eastern Partnership as Seen by the Eastern Partners
Panel 2 - Eurasian Union: A Rival on the Rise?
Panel 3 - Reviewing the EaP: A View from the EU and Concluding remarks