The Third Eastern Partnership Summit opens in Vilnius, Lithuania, today on 28 November.
28 highest representatives of the EU member states and the six Eastern partners as well as representatives of the EU institutions are expected to arrive in Vilnius. The event is hosted by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and chaired by Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council. President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, EU Higher Representatives for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, President of the European Parliament Matrin Schulz, and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule will attend the event.
The EU six eastern partners will be represented by President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Georgia Georgy Margvelashvili, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich, Prime Minister of Moldova Yuri Lyanke and Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makey.
On November 28, a coordination meeting of President Dalia Grybauskaite, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will be held to discuss the situation in Ukraine and align positions on the prospects of the Eastern Partnership initiative.
It is also proposed to convene a coordination meeting of all European leaders on Thursday to adopt final decisions on the development of the Eastern Partnership programme.
The final touches concerning the summit will be put during a working dinner. Taking part in the working dinner will be the heads of state and government members of the 28 EU member states, Presidents of the European Council, European Commission and European Parliament, as well as highest representatives of the six Eastern partners.
On 28 November, the President will open a civil society conference. At the conference, civil society leaders from the Eastern Partnership countries and the European Union, experts and analysts will discuss the biggest challenges faced by civil society in the Eastern Partnership countries. New ways to support civil society organizations in those countries will be explored.
On 29 November, the President will attend the signing of agreements with the Eastern Partnership countries and a plenary session where the heads of state and government members of 34 states will discuss Eastern Partnership's progress, future perspectives and objectives. After the plenary session, President Grybauskaite will participate in a press conference.
Later in the day, the President will meet with opposition representatives from the six Eastern Partnership countries - Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, according to the official website of the Lithuanian presidency of the Council of the European Union 2013.