One of the European Union's great strengths is its ability, as a prosperous, democratic community of like-minded states, to export political and economic stability to its neighbours. This strength will be put to the test on Thursday when the EU launches its "Eastern Partnership", an initiative to forge closer ties with six ex-Soviet states between the bloc's eastern border and Russia.

The Eastern Partnership, conceived by Poland and Sweden in 2007, covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It is an improvement on the EU's redundant "European Neighbourhood Policy", a 2004 project that absurdly grouped eastern European neighbours with places such as Libya, Syria and the Palestinian Authority.