Launched in July​ 2015, the Eastern Partnership Connect (EaPConnect) project aims to: ​

• establish and operate a high-capacity broadband internet network for research and education (R&E) across six EaP partner countries in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine;
• integrate the national research and education networks (NRENs) in the region into the pan-European GÉANT network; decrease the digital divide;
• facilitate participation of local scientists, students and academics in global R&E collaborations;
• deploy eduroam and stimulate integration towards GÉANT services.

By interconnecting the R&E communities across the region and with their European counterparts, EaPConnect will create a gateway for talented individuals in the EaP countries to be truly global players.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargements Negotiations (DG NEAR) is contributing 95% (€13m) towards the cost of the EaPConnect project; the remaining 5% will be co-funded by the six beneficiary countries.

The project was officially inaugurated at the 1st Eastern Partnership Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy and is expected to have a duration of five years.

EaPConnect is managed by networking organisation GÉANT in collaboration with the NRENs in the six partner countries.

Why connect the EaP to Europe? Why does this project want to enable​​ researchers and students in places far apart can work together and exchange data?