The Eastern Partnership project launched at the summit in Prague hailed has been hailed as a success of Poland's foreign policy.

Danuta Isler reports

Six post-Soviet countries have been officially invited to a closer cooperation with the European Union within the framework of the  Eastern Partnership project. The brainchild of Poland and Sweden, its main goal is to deepen political association and economic integration between the EU and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Although several leaders of the EU's established states were absent there during the inaugural summit in Prague the event was hailed as a success of Poland's foreign policy and the first Polish initiative accepted by the whole 27-nation bloc.

The main goal of the newly launched Eastern Partnership is to create a basis for political dialogue and a trade and security zone between the EU and it's eastern neighbours. The summit declaration, amended several times, envisages cooperation in the field of energy, the creation of the free trade zone, help in the adjustment of the laws of those Eastern countries to the European standards as well as cultural and academic exchange.

Addressing the participants of the Summit European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso expressed his conviction that the newly launched initiative will help those post-Soviet states come closer to European standards. Although the Eastern Partnership does not guarantee open doors for EU membership, the idea of the project put forward by Poland and Sweden was also hailed as success of Polish foreign policy.

The European Union has allocated 600 million euro to be used for the project until 2013.