President Ivan Gašparovič is set to lead the Slovak delegation at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius which will take place between November 28-29, according to the president's spokesperson Marek Trubač.
The official stance of the delegation is to oversee issues linked to the democratisation processes and subsequent co-operation with the European Union's eastern partners; Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. “The efforts that have been invested so far have contributed toward launching modernisation and reform processes in the partnership countries”, stated Gašparovič. On the other hand, Slovakia fully accepts that it is up to each country whether or not to accept any offered co-operation with the European Union. Gašparovič will be accompanied by Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák and Slovakia will use this opportunity to provide a helping hand in regards to these countries’ co-operation with the European community.
The creation of this summit is being viewed as a great milestone for the Eastern Partnership project, as it should see association agreements signed between the EU and a number of formerly-Soviet countries. While this will most probably be the case with Georgia and Moldova, European authorities were caught by surprise last week to learn that Ukraine had decided to put on hold its preparations for the signing of a breakthrough association agreement and an agreement on free trade with the EU.
