The substantial surge in vaccinations in EU member states comes as a relief to us in these troubling times, a success for which the EU must be credited with. However, the fact most Eastern partners have yet to see vaccinations simply begin in their countries with hardly any prospect of improvement in the near future is both a disturbing and worrying.

Through their letter, the civil society representatives have well described the current tense situation and the need for the EU to follow through on the solidarity it has shown since the beginning of the pandemic towards the Balkan and Eastern Partnership states.

The EU is today presented with a unique window of opportunity to come out as the main partner in these regions with regards to vaccines and post-pandemic recovery. That window is however closing, as other global actors have started filling the spaces currently left by the EU, well-aware of the quantity of soft power the vaccines carry. Actions must be taken swiftly for the EU not to lose years of progress in building strong partnerships with these countries.

Based on the above-mentioned points, the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society wants to affirm its full endorsement of the joint letter of civil society representatives and urges the EU leaders to respond to the concerns and suggestions made in it.

Members of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum
Sofia Strive, ForumCiv, Sweden, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee
Irina Sukhy, Ecohome, Belarus, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee
Sintija Bernava, Donum Animus, Latvia
Lousineh Hakobyan, Europe in Law Association, Armenia
Ruslan Havryliuk, National Ecological Center, Ukraine
Shahla Ismayil, Women’s Association for Rational Development (WARD), Azerbaijan
Maksym Koriavets, Polissya Foundation for International and Regional Studies, Ukraine
Natia Kuprashvili, Journalism Resource Center, Georgia
Adrian Lupusor, Expert-Grup, Moldova
Goda Neverauskaitė, European Trade Union Confederation, Belgium
Ana Otilia Nutu, Expert Forum, Romania
Tatiana Poshevalova, Centre for Social Innovations, Belarus
Yurii Vdovenko, Center for Cross-Border Cooperation, Ukraine