[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 18, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1339-E1340]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN SUPPORT OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 18, 2013

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the people of 
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. These six 
countries are members of the European Union's Eastern Partnership, an 
initiative that aims to promote democratic values, rule of law, and 
economic opportunity in Eastern Europe.
  Participation in the Eastern Partnership is strictly voluntary, in 
line with the long-standing international principle that sovereign 
states have the right to make their own decisions and choose their own 
alliances.
  Each of these six countries, to one degree or another, has made clear 
their interest in closer relations with the European Union and has 
chosen--again voluntarily--to participate in the Eastern Partnership.
  Three of the Eastern Partnership countries--Georgia, Moldova, and 
Ukraine--are poised to make historic strides in their relations with 
the European Union by initialing or signing Association Agreements at 
this November's Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. These 
Association Agreements, which include deep and comprehensive free trade 
provisions, will accelerate the process of political reform in each 
country and create conditions for extraordinary economic growth.
  These Association Agreements pose no threat to other countries. 
Indeed, I believe that the greater geographic neighborhood and peoples 
of the Eastern Partnership countries would benefit from these 
countries' integration into the European economy. For this reason, I 
cannot understand nor do I condone threats of trade embargoes, energy 
price hikes, gas supply cutoffs, and other forms of intimidation that 
might dissuade Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine from a path they have 
voluntarily chosen.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on any government engaged in such coercive 
practices to respect each country's right under international law to 
define and conduct its own relations.
  I call on the Administration to stand with the people of Georgia, 
Moldova, and Ukraine at this important moment in Europe's history.
    

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