EU - Central Asia relations: EU Publications

In 2019, the EU updated its strategy on Central Asia, to take account of new developments and opportunities for partnership and cooperation – both with the region as a whole and with its five individual countries (C5), taking into account the differences between them and their interests and requirements. The strategy aims to support sustainable development based on democracy, good governance and human rights and to boost trade and investment between the EU and Central Asia. In 2022 and 2023, the Central Asian Heads of State and the President of the European Council held their first-ever high-level meetings, resulting in the preparation of a further joint roadmap for deepening ties between the EU and Central Asia. The first-ever EU–Central Asia leaders' summit is due to take place in 2024, formalising the C5 + EU cooperation at the highest political level, and will be an opportunity to match the EU's political relevance in the region with its status of major donor and investor.

COVID-19 set new challenges for the economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Strong policy and fiscal support allowed businesses to stay afloat, with firms making long strides in innovation and in becoming global suppliers. This report examines the pandemic’s business impact, trade and innovation, green economy and the financial gaps in this region. The report’s analysis is based on the EBRD-EIB-WBG Enterprise Survey 2019, covering over 28 000 registered firms, and the first round of the COVID-19 Follow-up Enterprise Surveys, with over 16 000 firms.

This report is based on the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency’s evaluation of the first final project reports of the first generation of CBHE projects selected for funding in 2015. Altogether 138 projects were funded in 2015 and 88 finalised projects have submitted their final reports in 2019, among which 22 were implemented in Central Asia. The distribution of project per country is as follows: Kazakhstan 13, Uzbekistan 11, Kyrgyzstan 6, Tajikistan 2 and Turkmenistan 1.

Central Asia is an often overlooked region, but one that is gradually becoming more important for the European Union. Although the Central Asian countries are less of a priority than those of the Eastern Neighbourhood, the EU has steadily intensified diplomatic relations with the region, at the same time as ramping up development aid. European trade and investment, above all in Kazakhstan, have made the EU the main economic player in Central Asia, ahead of Russia and China. However, former overlord Russia does not seem to resent European influence in Central Asia as much as in eastern Europe, and the region has avoided becoming a zone of geopolitical confrontation. The EU's 2007 Central Asia strategy defines the priorities for EU development aid and diplomatic activity in the region. These include responding to security threats, protecting human rights, promoting economic development, developing transport and energy links, and ensuring environmental protection. Since then, progress in these areas has been uneven.

The 2007 European Union (EU) Strategy for Central Asia was reviewed for the fourth time in 2015. Over the last eight years, the EU has successfully established several institutionalised mechanisms for strengthening relations and working with Central Asian governments, including an increased presence on the ground. Despite this, the EU’s engagement in Central Asia is one of limited to no impact. The region has become more unstable; forecast gas deliveries from the region to Europe have so far not materialised; trade is minimal with the exception of EU-Kazakhstan links, democracy is seen by the Central Asian regimes as a threat to their survival; corruption severely undermines economic development and siphons off much of the development aid; and the human rights situation has been backsliding.

This independent evaluation assesses the impact, sustainability, effectiveness and efficiency of EU support to Central Asia for the period 2007-2014, as well as the consistency between programming and implementation and the value added of the EU interventions. It analyzes four focal sectors, namely environment, border management, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development, and higher education. Field visits were made to four countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The report finds out that EU Support has contributed to positive results in all areas of cooperation.

The country guidance documents provide country-specific common analysis and guidance in relation to the assessment criteria established in the recast Qualification Directive (Directive 2011/95/EU). They are developed by the EUAA together with a network of senior-level policy officials from EU+ countries and represent their joint assessment of the situation in main countries of origin, in accordance with current EU legislation and jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The European Commission and UNHCR provided valuable input in this process. The aim of the country guidance documents is to assist decision-makers and policy-makers in their daily work and to foster convergence in the assessment of applications for international protection and the type of protection granted in the context of the Common European Asylum System.

JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document "Joint Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences covering the period 2020-2022"
The Republic of Uzbekistan is the newest GSP+ beneficiary. The significant opening and reform efforts since 2016 have had overall a positive effect on compliance with international standards. The Uzbek authorities have positively engaged with GSP+
and the commitment to effectively implement the relevant international conventions. Shortcomings, nonetheless, remain and worrying backtracking has been noted particularly in civil and political rights. These issues will have to be addressed to ensure Uzbekistan continues to comply with GSP+ requirements.

This infographic provides an insight into the economic performance of Kazakhstan compared with the European Union (EU) and looks at the trade dynamics between them. Kazakhstan’s unemployment rate recorded a slight but steady decrease, stabilizing at 4-5% in the decade 2010-2020. Inflation rates, on the other hand, show less stability throughout the time series, and in 2022 reached their second-highest value since 2007. Foreign direct investment (FDI) fluctuated, with a notable spike in 2016, when Kazakhstan attracted record levels of FDI in12.5 % of gross domestic product (GDP). This was followed by a steep decrease in the inflows that in subsequent years have never exceeded 5% of the gross domestic product. Despite a significant yearly fluctuation, the EU’s trade with Kazakhstan shows a general upward trend, with a sharp increase after the 2020 global economic slowdown.

This report is a factsheet developed as part of a series of country-level trade fiches feeding into a module of the Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) dedicated to raw materials analysis in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and its impact on the EU's strategic dependencies. It provides a data-driven overview of Kazakhstan's trade in primary, processed and secondary non-food materials, focusing on its trade relations with the EU. The novelty is the product coverage for non-food raw materials, which we have defined by allocating the trade flows available in the COMTRADE database at the HS 6-digit level to a Material/Product aggregate sorted out of downstream commodities and corresponding to the broad categories of Abiotic, Biotic and Energy. Kazakhstan is a net exporter of non-food raw materials and its trade is dominated by exports of Energy commodities, which are directed mainly to the EU.

In December 2021, the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) launched an own-initiative procedure (2021/2230(INI)) on EU-Armenia relations and another on EU-Azerbaijan relations (2021/2231(INI)). The appointed rapporteurs are, respectively Željana Zovko (EPP, Croatia) and Andrey Kovatchev (EPP, Bulgaria). To accompany its scrutiny work, Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) requested the Ex-Post Evaluation Unit Ex-post Evaluation Unit of the Directorate for Impact Assessment and European Added Value, within the Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) of the Secretariat of the European Parliament, to prepare a European implementation assessment on the implementation of the EU's Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Armenia, and Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Azerbaijan.

Lying at the crossroads of central and south Asia, Afghanistan constitutes a key transit hub. This brief explores how tapping into regional trade, energy and transport connectivity around the country can yield significant benefits for the broader region.

Protests erupted in Kazakhstan on 2 January 2022 and quickly span out of control, resulting in multiple deaths
and several days of chaos. Although initially triggered by a fuel price hike, the unrest points to deeper causes of
discontent, including poverty, inequality and frustration at the lack of political change. A Russia-led
peacekeeping mission has helped to restore order, but could also compromise Kazakh independence

Kyrgyzstan is the most democratic but also the least stable of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. The most recent upheaval resulted in the cancellation of the October 2020 parliamentary elections. New elections scheduled for November 2021 are likely to consolidate the position of Sadyr Japarov, the country's new president. A controversial new constitution raises concerns over the future of Kyrgyz democracy.

Just over two months after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on 15 August 2021, the movement remains politically isolated. So far, no country has recognised the caretaker government that the new leaders announced on 7 September 2021. The humanitarian situation in a country that largely depended on foreign aid to survive is deteriorating rapidly, so much so that international aid organisations describe the situation as a 'humanitarian meltdown'. Aware that the collapse of the economic and financial system in Afghanistan would impact heavily on the stability of the country, the region and beyond, the international community has mobilised large amounts of funds, including €1 billion in humanitarian aid from the EU budget. While no major population movements out of Afghanistan have been detected so far, the EU is determined to avoid a crisis reminiscent of the 2015 refugee crisis prompted by the Syrian civil war.

[...] The country relies extensively on foreign aid, most of which is currently suspended, while foreign assets have been frozen. Many Afghans have fled to neighbouring countries, joining the estimated 3-4 million Afghan refugees already living there, mainly in Iran and Pakistan. The EU has expressed concerns over the composition of the interim government, noting that an inclusive and representative government–which the interim government is not – is an essential benchmark for EU engagement. The EU has made available large amounts of humanitarian and development aid and is hoping to establish a diplomatic presence on the ground in Kabul. The EU is also planning to set up a regional platform for cooperation with Afghanistan's neighbours on issues including population flows from Afghanistan, terrorism, organised crime and drugs.

Kyrgyzstan is the only ex-Soviet Central Asian country to have achieved a measure of democracy, but it is also highly volatile. Massive protests broke out after irregularities in the October 2020 parliamentary elections, toppling the government. Ex-convict, Sadyr Japarov, is now the country's prime minister and acting president. New parliamentary and presidential elections are planned for December 2020 and January 2021.