Eastern Partnership

The Eastern Partnership is a joint policy initiative to enhance relations with the six Eastern
neighbours Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, including in the field of
migration and home affairs.

Bilateral agreements
The overall framework guiding these relations is provided by the relevant bilateral agreements,
such as the Association or Cooperation Agreements. Formal dialogue takes place through Eastern
Partnership Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meetings, Association and Cooperation Councils
and Association and Cooperation Committees. The Subcommittee on Justice, Freedom and Security
(in all the 6 countries except Belarus) is the forum for expert discussions in the migration and home
affairs area. Mobility Partnerships (MP), signed with all Eastern Partners except Ukraine,
complement the existing framework for bilateral cooperation in the areas of mobility, migration and
asylum issues. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus have Visa Facilitation Agreements with the EU
and Readmission Agreements are in place with all our Partners. 

Visa liberalisation  
The EU has conducted ‘Visa Liberalisation Dialogues’ with three Eastern Partnership countries, a
process that led to the visa free regime with Moldova (2014), Ukraine and Georgia (2017). During
this process, defined in the corresponding Visa Liberalisation Action Plans (VLAPs) and following the
endorsement of EU Member States in the Council, these Eastern Partners committed to a complex
set of reforms to address migration and security risks. This process continues to be monitored by the
Commission in the Visa Suspension Mechanism reports (the Third Visa Suspension Mechanism
Report Search for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••  was published on 10 July 2020).

Deliverables
At regional level, the 2017 Eastern Partnership Summit set out a number of objectives to guide
reforms in the region, the 20 deliverables for 2020, including “strengthening the rule of law and anti-
corruption mechanisms” (Deliverable 9); “stronger cooperation in the area of security” (Deliverable
12) and “visa liberalisation dialogues and Mobility Partnerships” (Deliverable 17). Progress in these
deliverables is monitored through multilateral meetings of Eastern Partnership Panels and
Platforms.

Following the Joint Communication on the Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020 adopted on 18

March 2020, EU Institutions are engaged with Member States and Eastern Partners in a reflection
process to define a new set of Deliverables post 2020, which will be endorsed at the next Eastern
Partnership Summit in 2021.

Regional Panels
The EU Prague summit of 2009 established four thematic platforms to support open and free
discussions on topics relevant to the Eastern Partnership. Various panels were created under these
platforms. The 2017 Summit revised the architecture of the multilateral track of the Eastern
Partnership.

DG Migration and Home Affairs activities are concerned by two of these panels, established under
the first platform that deals with Strengthening Institutions and good governance, and the fourth
platform that deals with mobility and people-to-people contacts:

Eastern Partnership Panel on Rule of Law (under Platform 1)

The Panel was created in 2016 by merging two former panels, the Eastern Partnership Panel on the
Fight Against Corruption, created in 2009 and the Panel on Improved Functioning of the Judiciary.

The Panel facilitates multilateral dialogue and serves to stimulate the process of reforms and
achieve results in partner countries in areas related to rule of law, such as anti-corruption, including
high-level and high-damage corruption, the justice sector and judiciary reform, anti-money-
laundering and the countering of the financing of terrorism, asset confiscation, asset recovery and
asset management,  the prevention and fight against serious organised crime, including amongst
others cybercrime and small firearms trafficking, and improving law enforcement cooperation.
Furthermore, the Panel promotes adherence to international standards, in particular those
formulated in relevant Council of Europe and United Nations conventions, and the deployment of
best European practice. In principle the Panel meets twice a year, rotating between Brussels, EU
Member States and partner countries and seeks a balance in discussing different aspects.

Partnership Panel on Migration, Mobility and Integrated Border Management Panel

(under Platform 4)
The Eastern Partnership Panel on Migration, Mobility and Integrated Border Management (IBM) was
created in 2017 by merging two panels established in 2010, the Eastern Partnership Panel on
Integrated Border Management and the Eastern Partnership Asylum and Migration Panel. The Panel
is supported and steered by a network of National Focal Points. IOM and DG HOME perform
Eastern Partnership Panel on Migration support function

The Panel contributes to the implementation of deliverable 17 of the EaP, mobility and people-to-
people contacts, in particular by discussing visa policy, but also by following up on the
implementation of the Mobility Partnerships as well as Integrated Border Management. Its work
focuses on: continuing the exchanges with partners on issues related to the key aspects of
migration, organising and facilitating legal migration, including visa policy; preventing and reducing
irregular migration and trafficking in human beings, including integrated border management, return
and readmission; promoting international protection; maximising the development impact of
migration and mobility and balancing trade facilitation with trade security in border crossing points.

Prague Process
The Prague Process is a targeted migration dialogue and a policy process promoting migration
partnerships among the 50 countries of the European Union, Schengen Area, Eastern Partnership,
Western Balkans, Central Asia, Russia and Turkey.

The Process originates from the EU financed project “Building Migration Partnerships”, and was
initiated during the Czech EU Presidency at the 1st Prague Process Ministerial Conference with the
signature of the Prague Process Joint Declaration in April 2009. In the Joint Declaration, serving
as a common political framework, the participating states agreed to strengthen co-operation in
migration management, to explore and develop agreed principles and elements for close migration
partnerships between their countries, following a comprehensive, balanced, pragmatic and
operational approach, and respecting the rights and human dignity of migrants and their family
members, as well as of refuge