In an interview with BNS, director of the Foundation for Strategic Studies, Camille Grand, said Paris and other Western European capitals were preparing for the forthcoming November summit of leaders from EU countries and six Eastern neighbors.
"It might not be a top foreign policy priority, but nevertheless there is an understanding that Vilnius summit will be important and that we need to work on that very seriously," Grand said.
The head of the Paris-based foundation says that despite the fact that geography does have a bearing on policy priorities, the interest in Eastern neighbors does not end with Germany.
"It would be unfair to say that beyond Germany, if you go westward, there is no interest for Eastern partnership. There is an interest in Paris, for sure," he added.
Asked by BNS whether politicians like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande might come to Vilnius, the French expert said he could not rule out this possibility.
"It also depends on overall dynamics, what is the participation of the eastern partners. I would not rule it out at all. It would be legitimate for heads of state and government from the entire EU to attend. But beforehand we need to see what is the agenda, what is the attendance", Grand said.
Six post-Soviet countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, are taking part in the EU's Eastern Partnership program. The majority of these countries are criticized in the West for human rights violations and democracy situation.
Russia's attempts to rekindle its influence in the region by establishing the Eurasian customs union have recently come to the worlds' attention.
Grand says he believes the EU should not ignore its Eastern neighbors.
"We should be very clear that we are ready to work with them in spite of their shortcomings and that might be a way to correct these shortcoming in the long run by making clear there are some things we expect from them as there are some things that they expect from the EU," Grand told BNS.
