Euronest PA Session in Verkhovna Rada, October 31, 2017. Photo: Parliament of Georgia

A number of resolutions have been adopted at the 6th Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, an annual forum for members of the European Parliament and parliaments of the Eastern Partnership nations.

Among the several resolutions adopted by the Euronest Assembly at its 6th session on October 30 - November 1 were the ones titled “On the future of the Eastern partnership,” and “On deterioration of the human rights situation in the regions of Transnistria, Abkhazia, Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast.”

The first of these two resolutions notes that “that Eastern partnership is a strategic dimension of the European Neighborhood policy and a key element for stability and sustainable development of the Continent.” 

It also stresses that “independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of some of the EU eastern partners is under threat from unresolved regional conflicts which are actively sustained by Russian Federation,” and that “Russia’s aggressive and expansionist policy towards partner-countries” has resulted in “the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, as well as illegal occupation of Abkhazia, Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia and some regions of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, in breach of international law and bilateral agreements as well as Russia’s commitments and obligations within its membership in international organizations.”

As a response to Russia’s aggressive policy, the Euronest PA “calls to react unanimously and strategically to the consequences of the challenging geopolitical situation, provoked by Russia,” while reiterating support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Significantly, the resolution also calls to recognize that the European Union’s association agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine “do not constitute the final goal in their relations with EU,” and “to acknowledge their European aspirations.”

The second of the two resolutions, besides also reiterating support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine within their internationally recognized borders, notes the deteriorating human rights situation in the regions of these three nations that are currently occupied by Russia. 

The next Euronest Parliamentary Assembly will be held in Brussels in 2018, while the Euronest PA of 2019 is going to be hosted by the Parliament of Georgia in Tbilisi.

The Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, a parliamentary forum to promote political association and further economic integration between the European Union and the Eastern European Partners, gathers 110 lawmakers from the European Parliament and the Eastern Partnership countries.

The Parliamentary Assembly has 60 Members of the European Parliament (who also make up the current European Parliament Delegation) and 10 members from each of the following Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.