BRUSSELS – The European Union plans to better tie financial assistance to the six nations of its Eastern Partnership program to improvements in their rule of law and may increase funding for alternative energy to wean them off Russian fossil fuels.
In a leaked draft of its joint communication about the future of the Eastern Partnership seen by RFE/RL, Brussels also said it wants to step up the fight against economic crime in the six countries, including the recovery of stolen assets.
Created in 2009, the EU’s Eastern Partnership aims to bring the former Soviet states of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine closer to the bloc through help with reforms, without offering those nations guarantees that they could one day join.