madam president at the request of the council and responding to the expectations of parliament the commission has prepared and revealed today a document on the eastern partnership which will be presented to the summit as stated by minister jouyet president-in-office
i wish to congratulate and praise the commission for this document
the idea of deepening relations with our eastern neighbours has been pioneered and championed by parliament for quite some time
we need a strong eu presence in the eastern neighbourhood in synergy with our mediterranean neighbourhood
for the sake of stability on our doorstep we should offer tangible prospects to our closest neighbours
therefore we should support the idea of establishing an enhanced partnership covering essentially five areas association agreements a multilateral framework for cooperation a comprehensive and deep free-trade area visa liberalisation leading to visa-free travel and last but not least energy security
i especially welcome the proposal to increase the eu financial assistance earmarked for the enp east
two years ago we in parliament came up with the idea of strengthening the parliamentary dimension of the european neighbourhood policy east our proposal intends to set up a joint parliamentary assembly comprising members of the european parliament and deputies of the parliaments of the six countries
such a forum would provide an excellent platform for us in engaging our partners but also for our partners to engage with each other
we the union need friends around us but also for them to be friends among themselves
therefore i am especially glad at the idea of convening a euronest an assembly which if taken up by the commission will provide an instrument for democratic and parliamentary scrutiny of eastern partnership projects
i believe that the eastern partnership project constitutes not only a new enhanced format but also will strengthen the union both internally and externally
expanding and upgrading relations political and economic with our eastern neighbours will contribute to our economic dynamics and political and international influence
