On March 1, 2021, Armenia-EU signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA). It is a partnership agreement between the European Union and Armenia. The agreement advances the bilateral relations between the European Union and Armenia to a new, partnership level. Nevertheless, there is a fierce debate in Armenia about whether the country should implement the democratic values that became the basis for the formation of the EU. The problem is that due to economic and visa restrictions, the majority of Armenian citizens have never been to the EU countries. This is especially true for young people. They know about democracy and democratic values only from the Armenian media, a significant part of which is Russia-oriented.

The Armenian team returned very inspired after the project in the Hague in 2022 supported by the Erasmus+ program (https://www.west-east-fund.com/index.php/en/news/61).   In August 2022, after the conference, the Armenian group had a meeting with the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Armenia in Yerevan. During the meeting, the Ambassador asked the group about their plans, which they promised to think about. Later on, the Armenian group discussed the importance of providing an opportunity for other Armenian young people to experience the Netherlands. As the debates on whether European values are important for Armenia or not are very relevant today, the chance to communicate with Dutch peers is of vital importance for Armenian youths to realize the essence of those values.

The idea of this project occurred during the implementation of the conference in July, 2022 called “Return our Hug to the Hague”. More information about this conference can be found on the site of our organization using the link http://www.west-east-fund.com/index.php/en/The main topic of the conference in the Hague was - overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in European countries. The debates at the conference showed that young people both from the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries have a need to discuss with each other and with experts from different countries the reasons for the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine and in some other countries of the Eastern Partnership .

During the last day of the conference in the Hague in 2022, a large number of young participants proposed to hold a new conference in 2023 in order to think and discuss what young people in different countries of Europe can do to prevent new military conflicts. Many of young people thought that in 2023 there would be no more war in Ukraine. One of the participants from Ukraine even proposed holding a new conference in Kyiv. It is now 2024, and the end of the war is not in sight. It is obvious that military conflicts between European countries will nullify common European values for those living in the combat zone - Human dignity, Freedom, Equality, Rule of law, Human rights.

During the project   “Return Our Hug to the Hague” (ttp://www.west-east-fund.com/index.php/en/ ) at the plenary session in the Hague in July, 2022, there was a heated discussion at the Abovian Armenian Center if all the citizens of Russia are responsible for the war in Ukraine.

The fact that the Council of the EU rejected a preference for a simplified procedure for issuing Schengen visas to all Russian citizens, and the Baltic countries have refused visas altogether, proves that the problem raised at the Plenary is of pan-European significance.

In July 2023 года Dutch National Agency Erasmus+ awarded our new project 2023-2-NL02-KA154-YOU-000167606 «Who is Right and What to Do?!»

On December 5, 6 and 7 a representative from the  East Bridges Foundation attended the 14th Annual Assembly of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum in Prague. This forum is in place to ensure and enable a platform for a strong and independent civil society, democracy and European integration in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The theme of this year's assembly was "Resilient Civil Society for a More Ambitious Eastern Partnership" and it was centered around the Russian aggression in the war on Ukraine. 

The opening of the forum took place in the Czech Parliament, where deputy foreign minister of the Czech Republic Jaroslav Kurfüst spoke on the challenges for civil society during these difficult times of conflict for the countries in the Eastern Partnership. He also handed out the Civil Society Award 2022 to the Ukrainian National Platform. The second day of the Assembly was the start of the substantive meeting. The event provided three panel debates, which hosted various representatives of civil society organizations from the six countries of the Eastern Partnership and in addition a representative from a European Union institution as well. The first panel debate discussed: A stronger Eastern Partnership that Withstands War and was very much focused on the War in Ukraine and how (Ukrainian) civil society has a role in this war. The panelists touched upon the different ambitions that the countries in the partnership have towards the EU, while they do face similar challenges. Some panelists, as well as participants of the assembly pointed out that the focus of the war in Ukraine tends to overshadow large conflicts and problems that other countries in the partnership go through, such as the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.