The EU’s Eastern Partnership policy, established in 2009, links the EU with six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The policy supports political, social and economic reforms in these countries to strengthen democracy and good governance, energy security, environmental protection and economic and social development. Moldova and Ukraine have made the most progress, having been granted EU candidate country status in 2022. This was followed by the European Council’s decision on 14 December 2023 to open accession negotiations with them. On 24 and 25 June 2024 the EU held the first Intergovernmental Conference at ministerial level to officially open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, but the formal opening of negotiating clusters is still pending as of January 2026. Belarus, by contrast, remains under authoritarian rule and faces EU sanctions for human rights violations and support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP Read more