One of the many effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the heightened focus on the EU’s Eastern Partnership, the Association Trio, and their future. The purpose of these organizations was for the nations of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to cooperate among each other and strive towards Europeanization and eventually joining the EU. Since the beginning of the war, Georgia and Moldova’s lackluster participation in sanctions and military aid to Ukraine, as well as hostile statements from officials, have damaged relations among the three nations.
In this panel, Klympush-Tsintsadze Ivanna (Chairperson of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Ukraine’s Integration into the European Union); Igor Zhovkva (Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine), Teimuraz Janjalia (Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia) and Dr Iulian Groza (Director of the European Policy and Reform Institute) discuss:
-The next steps in European integration for the Eastern Partnership states
-Are the EEP and Association Trio obsolete? Have they accomplished their goals?
-What does Ukraine need from the EU & Trio right now to defeat Russia?
-Worsening relations between Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia
-Challenges faced by Georgia and Moldova in supporting Ukraine.
Moderator: Sergi Kapanadze, Former Vice-Speaker of Georgian Parliament and former Deputy Foreign Minister; Founder, of GRASS and FactCheck; Professor at the Caucasus University
00:00 Introducing the topic & panelists
01:23 The next steps towards the EU for the EEP states
4:50 Does the EEP still really exist?
6:30 How realistic is it for Ukraine to get candidate status next year
10:25 Is Trio still a viable political entity?
13:57 The issues currently faced by Moldova
17:47 Lackluster support for Ukraine from Trio
25:27 What is Ukraine facing right now?
27:50 The state of Ukraine-Georgia relations, issues faced by Georgia
40:00 Ukraine-Moldova relations
47:30 Audience questions begin
51:23 Answers/reactions begin
51:39 Klympush-Tsintsadze Ivanna: Modern day parallels to the 2008 Russo-Georgian War
53:49 Increasing EU capacity to help Ukraine Europeanize & other support
55:44 Igor Zhovkva: Ukraine’s response to the 2008 Russo-Georgian War
57:06 The world’s lackluster response to prior Russian aggression & the lessons learned
59:03 Moldova’s refusal of Ukrainian calls for help & Georgia not supporting Russia being declared a terrorist state
1:01:03 The next steps in Ukraine’s Europeanization efforts
1:01:58 Trio leadership
1:02:46 Dr Iulian Groza: What needs to be done for Moldova to receive EU candidacy?
1:05:42 Teimuraz Janjalia: Reacting to comments