The EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative was launched in 2009, to intensify the cooperation between the EU and its Member States, of the one hand, and six Eastern Partners in Europe and South Caucasus, namely Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The EaP is most commonly discussed from the solely (geo)political, security or economic perspectives.

This study seeks to make a difference by zooming in on the development dimension of the EaP with a focus on Ukraine as a case study. Such an insight is of special relevance, since both the EU and its Member States, of the one hand, and theEaP countries declared their commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals –an ambitious consensus global framework for sustainable development. The study shows that the EaP already has a considerable development dimension and the prospects to develop it further. Converting the EaP into a fully-fledged successful development initiative requires three basic steps. Firstly, a stronger focus needs to be made on the policy’s cohesion, local ownership and effectiveness aspects, with a thorough account of each EaP country’s development needs and strategies. Secondly, the policy needs a qualitatively new social dimension to engage with stakeholders, currently left behind. Thirdly, much is about plainer and more inclusive communication, and being speedy and persuasive, when reacting to fake news.

Read the full study here.

The project is implemented with the support of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Ukraine.