BRUSSELS, December 16. /TASS/. The joint declaration of the Eastern Partnership Summit does not contain any references to the prospects for the countries of this program to join the EU. The 24-page document published at the end of the summit deals only with cooperation, economic integration, support for reforms and development goals.

"We acknowledge the European aspirations and the European choice of the partners concerned (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova - TASS), as stated in the Association Agreements. The agreements provide for accelerating political association and economic integration with the European Union," the document says.

The document underscores that the EU states support the reforms and efforts of the associated partners leading "towards further gradual economic integration in the European Union Internal Market, as envisaged in the Association Agreements."

The Eastern Partnership is a joint initiative of the European Union and six Eastern European partners, namely Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Belarus suspended its participation in June 2021 following EU sanctions and the freezing of European cooperation programs. The Eastern Partnership summit was held in Brussels on December 15, 2021.