Tallinn, 21 May 2015 - Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas and Minister of Foreign Affairs Keit Pentus-Rosimannus will depart for Riga today to participate in the fourth summit of the European Union and Eastern Partnership states.
Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas said that Estonia is expecting the specific result of the summit to be clear support for Ukraine and Georgia: “The implementation of the free trade area of Ukraine and the European Union in the beginning of 2016 is a very important and symbolic step. In addition, there can be no barriers to granting visa-free travel to Ukraine and Georgia given that they meet the established criteria.” Prime Minister Rõivas is convinced that a clearly defined opportunity for joining the European Union in the future would strategically be the right signal and would convey, in addition to stimulating reforms, a clear message from Europe to the instigators of the ongoing conflict.
The objective of the Riga summit is to confirm the joint commitment of the European Union in continuing the Eastern Partnership as a policy with long-term goals. Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine have begun implementing the association agreements signed last year and the work done so far within the Eastern Partnership framework has led to the granting of visa-free travel rights to Moldova.
In addition to the Heads of State and Government of the European Union, the leaders or representatives of the six European Union Eastern Partnership partner states Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine will also be taking part of the summit. The leaders of European Union institutions and several European Commissioners will also be participating.
The Riga summit will begin on Thursday evening 21 May and end Friday afternoon.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs will return to Estonia on Friday night.