During the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU countries help not only each other, but also manage to take care of their Eastern Partners. The cooperation between the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries during COVID-19 pandemic had been discussed at the new StrategEast Live panel.
Jeroen Willems, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission, noted that the current economic crisis faced by the world can be named the worst since the 1920s. Thus, the European Union is simply obliged to support the six countries of the Eastern Partnership in the same way as it supports the other most affected European countries. But unfortunately, the consequences of the current crisis will stretch for years. Therefore, it is important to consider this assistance not only in the short term, but also in the medium and long term.
According to Mr. Willems, the main task is to provide liquidity for companies in the Eastern Partnership countries, as access to liquidity is the key to economic recovery. And at the same time, it is necessary to maintain macroeconomic stability of the region.
Natela Turnava, The Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia spoke about the difficult economic situation in Georgia: the epidemic interrupted economic growth in the country. The Georgian economy is deeply integrated into the European economy – free trade agreements have been signed with most EU countries. But for Georgia, the main loss is tourism, which accounts for 11.5% of GDP. The Georgian government has already decided that from July 1 it opens its borders for tourists. Ecotourism and agritourism will be the new products that Georgia will offer after the pandemic.
Genadi Arveladze, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia noted that the European Union has already shown itself to be a true friend of Georgia, having allocated €400 million for combatting the crisis. At the same time, Georgia receives additional funds for economic recovery through projects such as Eastern Partnership Investment Platform and Digital Single Market.
Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine highlighted the contribution of the Eastern Partnership countries themselves to the fight against the crisis. Speaking about Ukraine, Mr. Schleuning noted the contribution of the local IT industry to combatting COVID-19, Ukrainian doctors who share their experience working in EU countries, and the role of Antonov aircraft manufacturing company, which sends its giant plane around the world to transfer vital supplies to fight the pandemic.
Answering a question by moderator – Anatoly Motkin, President of StrategEast – about the linkage between the assistance provided by the EU and the prospects for political integration of the EaP countries with the EU, Mr. Willems noted that the EU does not require any political decisions from the Eastern Partners in exchange for assistance.
“On the one hand, there is Georgia, which is already very deeply integrated with the European Union. And at the other extreme there are Azerbaijan and Belarus – at the stage of coordination of many cooperation agreements. But regardless of this, the Eastern Partnership policy is sufficiently relevant for all six countries,” the European Commission official emphasized.
