4 Top "Twitter Diplomats" Disappointed by Ukraine's Decision, But "Open Door" Policy

Foto @fabiolahrnndz/Twitter

Many European diplomats expressed their disappointment that Ukraine put the European integration on hold which could be seen as far from achieving the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

The Eastern Partnership and Its 14 "Buddies"

EaP Countries and supporters among the EU; EU21Global

Everyone needs friends. At times of important decisions - this applies even more. The eastern neighbours of the European Union have experienced that there are comparable difficulties on the way of European integration. However, there are some supporters among the EU member states. Various meetings at the national and regional level were hold for the purpose of demonstration of additional support for the Eastern partnership countries. The three Baltic countries Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland and Sweden, as well as Bulgaria and Romania and even Great Britain increasingly showed their support to further develop the Eastern Partnership and manage the European integration of the Eastern neighbours of the European Union. Additionally they send a clear signal to the EaP countries that there were indeed serious obstacles in the path of reforms in order to get closer to the European Union.

Rendez-vous with the last dictatorship in Europe: Belarus

Belarus and the Eastern Partnership

The transformation process after the collapse of the Soviet Union leaded to a kind of rapprochement of many Eastern European countries to united Europe. Among the new neighbouring countries after the Eastern enlargement in 2004 and 2007, Belarus remains an exception in many respects with its supposed neutrality and autoctrative style of governance. Nearly 1250 kilometres forming the common border of the European Union with Belarus. But after the era of European enlargement and the increased dominance of territory and borders in the path toward national political and economic strength of Russia, the real test for Belarus' transition lies in the overcoming of two different political approaches: the European Neighbourhood Policy's "ring of friends" and the Russian "near abroad" policy.