Eastern Partnership countries may get unrestricted access to EU market, official says
By Iryna Lewshyna, BelaPAN 28 November 2013, 23:56
The six ex-Soviet countries involved in the European Union`s Eastern Partnership program may get unrestricted access to the 28-nation bloc`s market of 500 million consumers if they carry out economic and political reforms, Wilhelm Molterer, vice president of the European Investment Bank, said at the Eastern Partnership Business Forum in Vilnius on November 28.
He warned that economic integration between the Eastern Partnership countries and the EU should be accompanied by political cooperation, according to Lithuania`s news website delfi.lt.
Mr. Molterer reportedly called on the ex-Soviet countries to develop their relations with the EU.
The Business Forum was attended by, among others, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius and Stefan Fule, the EU`s commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy.
Belarus` delegation to the event was led by Economy Minister Mikalay Snapkow.
The forum was scheduled to include a series of discussions on ways to secure a more favorable business environment in the region.
