The Eastern Partnership (EaP) was established as a specific Eastern dimension of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), which contains both a bilateral and multilateral track.The Eastern Partnership complements the Northern Dimension and the Union for the Mediterranean by providing an institutionalised forum for discussing visa agreements, free trade deals, and strategic partnership agreements with the EU's eastern neighbours, while avoiding the controversial topic of accession to the European Union.
Východné partnerstvo má doplniť Severnú dimenziu a Úniu pre Stredomorie vytvorením fóra pre diskusie o vízových záležitostiach, voľnom obchode a dohodami o strategickom partnerstve s východnými susedmi EÚ, pričom sa vyhne kontroverznej téme prístupu do EÚ.