By Stefan Lehne, 2014

Through its European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), the European Union (EU) aims to support the structural transformation of its Eastern and Southern neighbors, promoting democracy, the rule of law, and successful market economies. Ten years after the ENP’s launch, it is clear that the policy is not working. Adjusting the ENP to the changing reality on the ground, sharpening its tools, and rebuilding its credibility should be a top priority for the EU’s foreign policy leadership.

Attachments:

Lehne (2014) Time to Reset The European Neighborhood Policy

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By Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2015

An “arc of instability” stretching from the European Union’s (EU) eastern borders down to the Mediterranean basin has undermined its flagship European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). This policy was designed to deliver prosperity, stability and democracy to countries surrounding the EU. It has manifestly failed and needs to be radically rethought. Starting with a tabula rasa, the EU should abandon the very concept of a homogeneous “neighbourhood” in the face of glaring differences among the 16 countries affected, not least because some are uninterested in reform; others may even be failed states. EU member states are themselves pursuing divergent interests and goals.

A fundamental review of the ENP should lead to more differentiated, targeted measures to promote “transformational change” within neighbouring states ready to accept it. The EU should offer revised incentives such as participation within the proposed “energy union” or freer trade designed to aid local economic development. It should embrace a wider range of actors, including civil society, promote entrepreneurship and help reform countries’ police and military forces. The review should reassert common EU institutions in negotiating and working with neighbours and give them a central role in preventing and resolving conflicts as well as promoting democratic reform and economic stability. This revised ENP should help underpin the EU’s efforts to forge a genuine Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Attachments:

Stiftung (2015) The EU neighbourhood in shambles

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By Sofia Casablanca, 2015

EU foreign policy is on the edge of a new era, and the debuts of the UfM and the EaP, between 2008 and 2009, are clearly a sign of this. Yet, this policy does not seem to be very well coordinated at the EU level and is too much engaged by the national will and, sometimes too cautious to be as efficient as the evolving geopolitical circumstances demand. According to Triantaphyllou, “these policies reveal the different foreign policy priorities and interests of some of the EU Member States, while raising questions, relating to their successful implementation”2. In some cases the ENP has been used as a political tool to foment rivalries among the EU Member States. All these differences could allow the implementation of more comprehensive policies, taking into account the contribution of each member, but, actually, seem to dilute the effectiveness of them, diverting attention from the primary objectives. How to decide which countries need to be addressed as a priority seems to be the biggest challenge, especially now that both the southern and the eastern borders are currently unstable, and require attention.

Attachments:

Casablanca (2015) The Dilemma of the EU Neighbourhood Policy

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