Prague - Conflicts between former-Soviet states in Eastern Europe and a row over their demand for visa-free access to the European Union overshadowed preparations on Wednesday for a summit between the EU and its Eastern neighbours.

On Thursday, the EU is set to launch an "Eastern Partnership" with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine at a high-level meeting in Prague.

But just one day before the talks, participants were still struggling to agree a joint political declaration, as rows over visa freedom, frozen conflicts and EU membership beset negotiations.

The latest draft of the declaration, seen by the German Press Agency dpa, says that the bloc will gradually make it easier for the citizens of partner countries to obtain visas, but only take "gradual steps ... on a case-by-case basis" towards abolishing visas entirely.

That has led to "enormous pressure" from partner countries, who want a promise of visa abolition, diplomatic sources told dpa.

At the same time, the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh threatens to weaken the partnership, which was intended to boost cooperation between the partner states.

Azerbaijan has already forced the EU to drop a statement that partners "believe the partnership could help develop closer ties" between them, and opposes any reference to cooperation between the six former-Soviet states, diplomatic sources said.

EU states, in turn, struck from the draft a reference to the six as "European states," in a bid to stop them pushing to join the EU.

Under the EU's founding treaty, any "European state" can apply to join the bloc, making the term highly politically sensitive. (dpa)