“The Index spotlights important issues often sidestepped”

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) Index is the civil society-led monitoring tool, developed by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. It is grounded in input from experts in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

The EaP Index uses a comprehensive methodology covering 14 policy areas, tracks progress on Sustainable Development Goals and includes an analysis of gender-related issues in the region.

The Eastern Partnership Index has gained notable visibility over the years. What sets it apart from other similar tools?

Kerry Longhurst: The EaP Index stands out due to its comprehensive and interdisciplinary design which tracks political, economic, social, and institutional developments across all six Eastern Partnership countries. Another defining feature is its unique civil society-driven approach. With local experts contributing directly to the gathering and analysis of data, the Index is assuredly credible and relevant. Moreover, the Index isn’t just analytical; it is solidly policy-oriented. The findings and recommendations directly inform EU policy on enlargement and future Eastern Partnership strategies.

How would you assess the impact of the Index so far?

Kerry Longhurst: Each edition proved to be a timely diagnostic tool and comparative measure to gauge the six EaP states’ alignment with EU laws, norms, and policies. The Index makes a particularly important impact by spotlighting the kinds of issues that are important to civil society, but which often get sidestepped in official governmental or EU reporting. Furthermore, the EaP Index presents salient case studies and recommendations which create focal points for policy development and innovation for the EU, national authorities and civil society.   

Just as importantly, the creation of the EaP Index has fostered a ‘community of practice’, in the form of a network of like-minded regional experts and stakeholders who are collectively invested in democratic development and European integration.

The Index makes a particularly important impact by spotlighting the kinds of issues that are important to civil society, but which often get sidestepped in official governmental or EU reporting.

Can you share some highlights from the 2025 edition?

Kerry Longhurst: Certainly. The following findings stand out this year:

1. The EU enlargement dynamic is on track: The candidate states are edging closer to EU laws, norms and policies despite inclement geopolitical conditions. Both Moldova and Ukraine improved their scores in the spheres of democratic rights, state accountability and independent media, which reflects a positive shift towards meeting the EU’s conditionality in some of the most demanding negotiation clusters.
2. Armenia has secured third place in the Index: This has ‘re-set’ the previous Index pattern of results and is testimony to Armenia’s positive alignment with the EU, which is backed by the democratic fortitude of the country’s civil society. Though significant gaps in Armenia’s performance persist, the country is evidently well on the way to securing itself an EU future.     
3. Connectivity Gains: Most EaP countries have improved their physical connectivity with the EU and for some of them with their neighbours too. This includes more joint border operations, upgraded transport links, and harmonised customs and border systems in line with EU standards. Though much more needs to be done, progress in this area bodes well for trade and people to people contacts. The steady rise of connectivity shows that the EU and portions of the EaP region are ‘growing together’.
4. Georgia’s Democratic Decline: The ruling party’s dismantling of democracy and palpable de-Europeanisation is strongly reflected in the country’s Index performance. Though its overall score did not alter, the country’s performance in human rights, state accountability, independent media, fundamental freedoms, judicial independence and the fight against corruption declined sharply, which illustrates a massive regression from core EU norms. At the same time, civil society in Georgia remains stridently pro-EU and has become a powerful vanguard of democracy.
5. Trade vs. Business Environment: While trade volumes with the EU remain robust, structural weaknesses persist. Many EaP states continue to struggle with shadow economies, poor labour protections, and limited business reforms, all of which hamper sustainable growth, labour protections and tax revenue potential.

The Index includes a gender dimension. Why is that important, and what does it reveal?

Kerry Longhurst: Gender equality is a core principle of democratic governance, which also means that democratic backsliding has a gendered dimension. In an EaP context gender equality is also a core ingredient of resilience building and society’s capacity to ‘bounce forwards’ in its development. With this in mind, the EaP Index attempts to consider gender across all of its core themes and thus resists treating it as a ‘side dish’. The 2025 findings show that despite gains in education and health, systemic barriers often mean that gender gaps persist in political participation levels, legal rights, the work place, access to energy, and unpaid work in the home. In both EU and EaP settings, change is not as swift as it needs to be. The EaP Index shows that all stakeholders need to identify the ‘intersectional’ sources of gender gaps and come up with novel solutions and remedies to benefit society as a whole. The EU accession process should be taken as an opportunity to reinforce gender equality norms across the EU Acquis. 

Kerry Longhurst is the Executive Editor of the Eastern Partnership Index 2025.

Additional resources

The full Eastern Partnership Index 2025 will be made available on our dedicated webpage on 26 June 2025: https://eap-csf.eu/what-we-do/eap-index/