Eastern Partnership Project defines EU’s policy towards its Eastern partners: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Eastern Partnership was inaugurated in 2009 in Prague on the initiative of Poland supported by Sweden. The core values of the project are freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights.

The project aims at strengthening economic and political cooperation between EU and its partners. Creation of effective and transparent public administration is considered a prerequisite for effective reform and Poland serves as a role model. Between 2011-2013 EU allocated EUR 170 m for Comprehensive Institutional Building in Eastern Partnership states.

European Union understands differences in integration aspirations of each Eastern Partnership state. Some of EaP states aim at deeper cooperation with EU member states while other aim at becoming full EU members in the future. The EaP tools allow each state to choose the level of integration. Those EaP states who fulfill certain criteria will have the possibility to enter a free trade area (DCFTA), including visa dialogue, cooperation in the energy sector and support for economic and social development.

Development of the Easter Partnership programme was one of the priorities of the Polish Presidency in the EU Council in 2011. During the Polish Presidency a Joint Declaration was signed in Warsaw that reaffirmed the core values of the EaP and common effort to introduce visa free regime and creation of a free trade area.

European Union’s support for the Eastern European States enables them to develop rapidly and to raise the standard of living. The EU’s support creates possibility to use the experience of Poland and other new EU member states in reforming EaP states.