In Need of a New Paradigm? Rethinking the European Neighbourhood Policy/Eastern Partnership
In Need of a New Paradigm? Rethinking the European Neighbourhood Policy/Eastern Partnership

Author(s): Laure Delcour
Subject(s): International relations/trade, Security and defense
Published by: ECEAP Estonian Center of Eastern Partnership
Summary/Abstract: Over the past decade, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has become much more than the policy framework governing the European Union’s relations with adjacent regions. Given the multifaceted and daunting challenges faced by Eastern European, South Caucasus and Southern Mediterranean countries, the neighbourhood has actually emerged as a major test for the EU’s foreign policy as a whole. With the ENP, the EU has responded by projecting to the neighbourhood its own governance and model of economic integration – widely seen as building blocks of prosperity and peace across the continent. By providing guidance for domestic reforms, EU’s rules and policy templates were expected to bring about prosperity, stability and security in the neighbourhood. As the paper argues, the ENP needs a shift of paradigm. While also pursuing its own interests and promoting its values, the EU should de-centre the ENP from its own experience and better tailor its policies to partner countries’ needs and circumstances.

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