To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on Eastern Europe of the outcomes of the recent Eastern Partnership summit; and if he will make a statement. (275147)

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary attended the launch summit of the Eastern Partnership in Prague on 7 May 2009 where we strongly supported this EU initiative to step up our relations with our six Eastern European neighbours—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The Eastern Partnership will add value in a number of ways, including:

enabling the EU to deepen relations with each of the partners through New Association Agreements and deep free trade agreements when partners are ready;

setting up a framework for multilateral discussion and cooperation between member states and partners on issues including democracy, economic reform, energy and people-to-people contacts.

The UK will continue to support the development of the Eastern Partnership. We believe that a strong partnership with the region is in the interests of the UK and can help us work effectively together to strengthen democracy, reduce the risk of conflict, and create the conditions for sustainable economic growth.