Socio-Economic Cohesion within the European Union as a Trigger for More Constructive Neighbourhood Relations
Socio-Economic Cohesion within the European Union as a Trigger for More Constructive Neighbourhood Relations

Summary/Abstract: Socio-economic cohesion and the neighbourhood instrument work together to develop the EU both internally and externally. While the neighbourhood instruments focus mostly on the outside its borders, the EU needs to closer look inside, before it can assert its “soft power” influence to the neighbourhood. The main question to be asked by this paper is how can the EU foster constructive neighbourhood relations, if it does not foster constructive socio-economic relations within its borders? Hence, the argument of the paper is that the EU must focus on investing in its social and economic environment so that it can harness it to the outside and, especially to its neighbourhood .The EU needs to go from the priorities of growth to priorities of development. Hence, it should focus on efforts to rebuild its socio-economic environment, because of the increasing social troubles and the recession. In this complicated equation between the EU and its neighbourhood, the concept of border/frontier plays a pivotal role – because it is the instrument through which the EU can propagate its socio-economic landscapes. In order to safely foster “constructive” neighbourhood relations, the EU must harness the power of border openness, despite the tendency to keep its Eastern or Southern borders closed.

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