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(Polish version)
The project Eastern Partnership in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy and V4 agenda aims to conclude in an international publication: Polish, Czech and Hungarian efforts into the Eastern Partnership inauguration as well as presenting future objectives of the Polish Presidency in 2011 in the matter of the EU Enlargement Policy and cooperation within the Eastern Partnership.
download the publication "Eastern Partnership in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy and V4 agenda"
The project is co-financed by the Visegrad Fund
(http://www.visegradfund.org/).
The project is realized in a partnership with leding Think Tanks:
Europeum Institute for European Policy
(http://www.europeum.org/)
Centre for EU Enlargement Studies
(http://web.ceu.hu/cens/index.html)
In 2011 Poland will take over the Presidency of the EU Council. Its goals and priorities, should be set at the level of political decisions and international consultations basing upon shared experience both at the EU and the V4 level. To make a decision which priorities should be promoted while holding the Presidency, Poland ought to gain support of the other EU Member States.
The role of NGOs is to reinforce the public diplomacy on the most actual and important topics, supporting the public debate. Therefore the European NGOs engagement into the Eastern Partnership will result in substantive and social support of national and the European administration.
In order to set the Eastern Partnership, as one of the Polish Presidency priorities, on the EU agenda, it has to be consequently lobbied by differed groups: political, NGOs, and social. Engagement and enhanced cooperation between NGOs and between NGOs and public administration play a dual role: informative and consultative, as well as increasing social involvement in Presidency's events and general interest in the EU issues.
The publication released in January 2010 and is targeted to: the public opinion leaders, public administration representatives, academic researchers, media representatives, expert organizations, decision makers, students and all persons interested in the topic in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
The publication was prepared by experts from leading Polish, Czech and Hungarian think tanks who have previous practical experience in carrying research work in the field of the EU Enlargement Policy, European Neighbourhood Policy as well as the Czech Presidency conclusions and the Polish EU Presidency preparation:
Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski - PhD in History from the Department of History of International Relations of the University of Łódź; visiting professor of the Belarusian European Humanities University in Vilnius. EPP-ED expert in charge of the monitoring of the political situation in Belarus (2005-2006), Moldova, Russia and Ukraine in the European Parliament in Brussels; researcher of Natolin European Centre, academic teacher at the University of Łódź; member of the European Institute in Łódź (1996-2001). Held Office of the Undersecretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for European Integration and Foreign Assistance - Council of Ministers (1995-1996); employed in the Office of the Minister of National Defence for Defence Policy Planning of the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland (1992).
Krzysztof Szczerski - PhD in Humanities at the Jagiellonian University, vice-director of the Institute of Political Science and International Relations of the Jagiellonian University, political scientist, expert of the European integration, regional policy and public administration; scholar of the Foundation for Polish Science; laureate of Pro Arte Docendi Award. Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland (2007); colleague at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (1998 - 2000), counsellor of the Minister of Health RP (1999 - 2000); traineeships at the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Agnieszka Legucka, PhD, graduated Institute of International Relation at the Warsaw University and East European Studies there; defended her Ph. D. (Role of the Eastern Dimension in security policy of the European Union and NATO) in January 2005. Works at the National Academy of Defence in Warsaw and the Institute of International Relations at the University of Humanities and Sciences, branch in Piotrków Trybulnalski. Instructor of a SENSE Programme (Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise) organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the countries during the transformation. Author of several articles and books about the European Union Eastern Policy, foreign and security policy of the CIS countries.
David Kral- master in law from the Law Faculty at Charles University in Prague. He has been the director of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy since 2000. He lectured at the Metropolitan University n Prague and at Charles University - Faculty of Social Sciences. During the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe and the Intergovernmental Conference 2003/2004 he was a member of advisory groups of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister, and member of an advisory group on foreign relations to the Vice-Premier for EU affairs before and during the Czech EU presidency in 2009. He serves on the Board of PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society), gathering think-tanks and policy institutes from Central and Eastern Europe and Newly Independent States. His main areas of expertise include the EU constitutional and institutional issues, EU enlargement, EU external relations, Common Foreign and Security Policy and transatlantic relations.
Andras Racz- PhD, graduated at the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, defended his Ph.D. in Modern History 2008; currently works at the Institute of Strategic and Defense Studies of the Zrínyi Miklós National Defense University; fields of expertise are: EU foreign and security policy towards Eastern Europe, Russian and post-Soviet politics, Hungarian foreign and security policy.
EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AND V4 IN A NUTSHELL:
The Eastern Partnership is Polish-Sweden initiative launched within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the EU Enlargement Policy. The partnership aims to approximate the EU integration with countries which due to political and economic destabilization have not achieved association agreements (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus). The Eastern Partnership should fulfill the same role as the V4 showing that the joint initiative implies better integration within the group while adjusting to the EU standards and implementing internal reforms. Therefore for the New Member States of the Central Eastern Europe, the Eastern Partnership is one of the priorities and real interest. The Eastern Partnership inauguration during the Czech Presidency in May 2009 was marked as a major event assuming intensification of political and economic contacts with the six former Soviet countries. At the time of the Czech Presidency tenure, Poland was leading the V4 and also from that position reinforced the Eastern Partnership project. Consequently this statement has been sustained by Hungary which has taken over the V4 Presidency this year.
The Visegrad Group (dubbed the Visegrad Four - V4) was established by a joint declaration approved by Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary in 1991. The V4 aimed to support transition process: promotion of the rule of law and a free market economy, but first of all, achieving a common goal: the EU and NATO integration. The V4 has fulfilled a role of complement to and enhancement of the EU integration. The V4 members accession to the EU in 2004 implied new challenges and broadened range of undertaken activities: strengthening the Central-Eastern European identity through cultural exchange, realizing the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Neighborhood Policy of the EU, sharing experience of democratization and integration with the non-EU Eastern-European countries. The EU has been reinforcing transnational and regional cooperation, because regions characterized by similar features integrate more successfully on many levels: political, economic, and social. Therefore the V4 cooperation has high and constantly developing potential.
Source: http://www.visegradgroup.eu/
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