From the Ukrainian foreign minister:
Not surprisingly, Ukraine features in a look ahead by RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak to tomorrow's Eastern Partnership summit, which is being held in the Belgian capital:
Ukraine is also likely to make a final push to secure more positive wording concerning its prospects of eventually joining the EU.
The current draft language on that topic is identical to that of the previous summit, stating that "the summit participants acknowledge the European aspirations and European choice of the partners concerned, as stated in the association agreements."
The text references a December 2016 decision by EU heads of state that included a legally binding supplement to its association agreement underscoring that Brussels will not give Kyiv the right to automatic EU membership or guarantee any EU military aid for Ukraine.
The addendum allowed the Netherlands to finally ratify the Ukraine Association Agreement earlier this year despite the fact that 61 percent of Dutch voters disapproved of the deal in a citizen-driven, nonbinding referendum held in April 2016.
Read the entire article here.
EU Leaders Prepare To Meet Eastern Neighbors
European Union leaders are set to hold a meeting aimed at deepening ties with six of the EU's eastern neighbors. The November 24 Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels is designed to bolster trade and promote European values in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The EU is expected to sign a partnership deal Armenia. For the first time, Belarus leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka was invited, but he announced he'd skip the gathering. (AP, EU video, Reuters, RFE/RL)
