Mr President, Colleagues, Your Excellency,

In the name of German government I would once again like to extend our very best wishes to the people of the Philippines. The Federal Foreign Minister is in constant contact, and I have personally spoken on the phone to President Aquino. We would like to assure you that we will do everything we can to stand by the Philippine people at this difficult time.

Ladies and gentlemen, in ten days the Third Eastern Partnership Summit will be held in Vilnius. On behalf of the Lithuanian Presidency, the country’s President Dalia Grybauskaite has invited all EU member states and representatives of our six Eastern European partner countries Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan to the summit. I will be attending this summit meeting as I did the previous summits in Prague and Warsaw. In this way I would like to underline the strong bonds that link Germany and the entire European Union with our Eastern neighbours. It is in the strategic interests of all parties to foster the continued development of these states, to support transition in the fields of democracy, human rights and good governance, and to strengthen economic development in these countries.

I believe that the Eastern Partnership has a huge potential. It is an independent instrument of European policy, which is enabling our Eastern neighbours to move closer to the European Union on an entirely new level. It exists parallel to other strategic partnerships that are important to the European Union, including our partnership with Russia and the negotiations over a free trade agreement with the United States of America.

I would just like to take this opportunity to say a few words about America given current concerns. Consultations with the USA demonstrate that negotiations of this sort, on a free trade agreement for instance, are always more than simply negotiations about business and free trade; trust is always a major factor. Germany and the USA share common experience, values and interests. We stand together for liberal, open and democratic societies. There can be no doubt that the transatlantic relationship and thus also the negotiations on a transatlantic free trade agreement have been strained by allegations that the USA has intercepted data on a massive scale. The allegations are very serious, and must be investigated. And even more importantly, new trust must be established for the future.

This is only possible if we achieve transparency on the one hand, and on the other the awareness that the transatlantic relationship is a major guarantor of liberty and security for both partners – and I would like to stress for both partners – particularly for Germany. I say then, very explicitly, that the German-American relations and the transatlantic relationship is crucially important for Germany and just as important for Europe as a whole.

Ladies and gentlemen, this in no way contradicts Germany’s and Europe’s interest in additional instruments of European policy. One of these is the Eastern Partnership. To prevent any misunderstandings – the Eastern Partnership is not an EU enlargement instrument. Our Eastern Partnership is not about the prospects of accession to the EU; it is about supporting our partners in their democratisation and modernisation processes, by offering them the chance to move closer to the EU and become more economically integrated.

We base our actions on the principles of conditionality and differentiation, which means that as the countries make more or less progress towards democracy and the rule of law, they are treated differently, and benefit from different levels of EU promotion and cooperation. Three points are particularly important in this context: firstly successful transition in our partner countries, secondly their sovereign decision as to the political direction they take, and thirdly, person to person contacts.

Healthy economic and political development in our Eastern neighbours is crucially important, not only for our partners, but also for the strength of the European Union and our prosperity within the EU. This is another reason why we must continue resolutely to engage for our neighbours. Our partnership involves commitments on both sides: we aim to foster economic exchange and contacts between our societies, between the EU and its partners, and among our partners.

Civil society in our Eastern partner countries has a very important role to play in this. It is civil society that must support change, demand change and foster change. They should have the opportunity to experience and shape the way their countries move closer to the EU, as well as the opportunities offered by economic integration. This special focus in cooperation at government level, but equally in contacts between the people of all countries is reflected in the fact that both economic cooperation and civil society cooperation are integral elements of the Eastern Partnership.

We have relevant instruments at hand. These may often sound highly technical, but in every individual case they translate as concrete improvements in the way we live together. They include Association Agreements and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements, as well as easing visa requirements. To foster mutual understanding, the participation of young people from the Eastern Partnership states in EU programmes such as ERASMUS is very important. All these various elements help our Eastern partners to increasingly align with our values and our standards.

At the coming summit we intend to initial Association Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements with Moldova and Georgia. These two countries have developed positively overall over recent years. Georgia has seen a peaceful change of government following democratic elections, and a broadening consensus within society as to the direction the country should take.

In spite of some domestic turmoil, the Republic of Moldova has perhaps demonstrated the greatest political will of all Eastern partners to adopt and implement reforms. So that the initialling of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement can become effective swiftly, we undertook at the last meeting of the European Council in Brussels to provide for the subsequent signing of the agreements as rapidly as possible.

Our relations to Moldova and Georgia will then be closer than ever before. The agreements will enable these countries to enjoy relations with the EU on a hitherto unknown scale as well as covering an entirely new spectrum. They offer opportunities for economic development, to modernise their societies and states, and to support the establishment of a modern state based on the rule of law. This, in turn, can strengthen the legal framework for investment and trade, but also for tackling corruption. These are the opportunities that an Association Agreement and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union offer Eastern Partnership states.

Such close links to the EU also, however, involve commitments. Firstly, the commitment to implement what has been agreed. The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, for instance, obliges our partners to adopt European standards. In some cases this is a major challenge for the economy, and – let’s be honest – a process that will take many years. But business is only one important part of the Association Agreement. Equally important is that the signatories are obliged to respect the rule of law, democracy and human rights.

And this brings us, naturally, to our consultations with Ukraine. The very size of the country gives Ukraine a special weight within the Eastern Partnership. The EU has come furthest in shaping a new relationship with Ukraine, based on legal agreements. In the past we have always made it clear to Ukraine that the new quality of cooperation, based on legal agreements, calls for more than mere lip service to the common undertaking to uphold European values including democracy, the rule of law and civil liberties.

At their Council meeting in December 2012, the European Foreign Ministers identified three areas in particular in which progress must be made: firstly in reforming electoral law, secondly on steps to end what is termed “selective justice” symbolised by the case of Yulia Tymoshenko, and thirdly in implementing the association agenda. At this point I would just like to stress once more that we expect Ukraine to take credible steps to meet the preconditions for the signing of the Association Agreement. We expect this process to be implemented sustainably and irreversibly.

There can be no doubt that Ukraine still faces massive reform efforts on the domestic front. Another enormous challenge for the country is the need to consolidate its budget. Without sound finances, there can be no aid package from the International Monetary Fund. We believe that a package of this sort is urgently needed by Ukraine. The substantial bilateral EU macro-financial assistance, in the form of a loan worth more than half a billion euros in total, is also coupled to this. We urge Ukraine to undertake the necessary reforms. These steps can only be taken by the Ukrainian government. The action is needed independently of the signing of the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Trade Agreement. We realise that reforms cannot be realised in full overnight. We would also like to support Ukraine with its reforms, and are prepared to offer cooperation and financial assistance to support our European Neighbourhood Policy, but Ukraine must firstly meet the preconditions – not at some indeterminate point in the future, but now.

Right now – as I said the summit is ten days away – a large number of meetings are being held, and the matter is also being discussed in the Ukrainian Parliament. I am forced to say to you here today that it is by no means certain that Ukraine has the will to meet the preconditions that would allow the agreements to be signed. Today and tomorrow the Council of Foreign Ministers in Brussels will also be debating precisely this issue. If Ukraine meets our expectations and we can sign the agreements, we can ensure that they are provisionally applied on a broad basis to strengthen the hand of Ukraine should it face any disadvantages from the Russian side.

We realise that the decision to forge links with the European Union is not an easy one, not only for Ukraine, but for our partners as a whole. Some of them have faced significant pressure over the last few months. In Vilnius I will also be urging the EU to counter this pressure with concrete opportunities and genuine solidarity, be it in the form of additional sales opportunities for products from our partner countries, which for instance may not be exported to Russia, or in the form of assistance to diversify their energy supplies.

To put it unequivocally – the countries must decide themselves on their future direction. Third parties cannot have the right of veto. That is our understanding of the unqualified mutual respect of the freedom to choose as laid out in the OSCE Charter. I have also raised this issue many times in my meetings with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. I have repeatedly made it quite clear that neither the Eastern Partnership, nor the bilateral contractual relations between the EU and our partners are directed against Russia. Quite the reverse is the case: Russia too will benefit from stronger and more modern economies in our Eastern partner countries, as we see it. The EU has offered Russia talks many times to explore the mutual advantages of cooperation. I am absolutely convinced that we must continue to work to ensure that the Eastern Partnership countries are not faced with a stark “either – or” choice – either moving closer to the EU or acceding to Russia’s efforts to forge a closer partnership with these states. The EU has already submitted proposals to Russia in this regard, and these should be discussed as swiftly as possible.

Under these circumstances Armenia has decided to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, which is incompatible with the initialling of the Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Trade Agreement with the European Union. Naturally we accept this decision. At the same time we will seek ways in which Armenia and the EU can cooperate in future. This cooperation will not have the same special quality of the cooperation with Georgia and Moldova, but Armenia remains an important Eastern partner.

At this juncture permit me to say a few words about Belarus. This is the most difficult chapter in the Eastern Partnership. Since renewed repression following the presidential elections in December 2010, political prisoners have not been released. Citizens who have called for pluralism within this society find themselves behind bars. I am thinking, for instance, of Ales Bialiatski who was recently awarded the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize. We all advocate that these people be free to speak and to act.

We would also like to step up cooperation once more with Belarus, but this will only be possible when political prisoners have been released and rehabilitated. It would be highly significant if the summit in Vilnius could give a sign of hope here.

Ladies and gentlemen, this summit is an important confirmation of our offer of political links and economic integration for our Eastern partners. It is at least as important though that we then together use the potential that this partnership offers. We have touched on many fields of cooperation, but we must still achieve sustainable progress. Any signing or initialling of an Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement must be followed by resolute action to implement the agreements. The visa action plans show what is needed to achieve the long-term objective of lifting visa requirements entirely. Regional cooperation offers many chances to learn from one another.

The summit in Vilnius will be an important milestone on the road to transition for our partners in the East. It will show us the way towards the future, but it will also indicate how much work still lies ahead. The Cold War still throws a shadow, and it is our task, and quite particularly the task of Germany, to help ensure that the Cold War is over for all of us, including our Eastern partners.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.