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By keeping Ukraine's EU accession prospects alive, European Union leaders yesterday (9 September) steered clear of creating a "damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't" situationby balancing a desire to encourage the country's pro-Western leadership with concerns not to further radicalise Moscow in the wake of the Georgia crisis.

The EU appeared to be divided at the summit, with France, Germany and Italy advocating a cautious approach to Moscow, while Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Baltic states expressed their wish to develop stronger ties with the EU's eastern neighbourhood after the Georgia crisis. 

But unlike the “accession neighbors” of Central Europe or the Western Balkans, the EU's eastern neighbors have two other alternatives to the EU: joining the gradually re-consolidating Russian “sphere of influence” or playing a Tito-style game of perpetual maneuvering between East and West to strengthen their position, rather than fully committing to one or the other. The new neighbors can more easily eschew EU conditionality and attendant reforms. They also have deeply corrupt and often authoritarian elites whose primary goal is to stay in power.

As a result, most Eastern European governments want an ENP “a la carte.” Unlike the accession countries of the 1990s, they are much more selective of what they take from the EU. Most of them are not interested in importing the whole acquis. Why should they adopt expensive social or environmental laws, if they are not going to join the EU?

The EU is entering a new game in the neighborhood (and even in countries like Turkey or Serbia). A reworked model of ENP, or what is effectively enlargement-lite, might work for Moldova and Ukraine, but is unlikely to have much effect elsewhere. Instead, the EU's ability to shape the future development - and choices -- of its other eastern neighbors will depend on the EU's capacity to differentiate and play the different “sovereignty games” of its neighbors, which implies being much more responsive to their needs.

he European Commission is working on an 'Eastern Partnership' with Ukraine, Georgia and other countries lying on its eastern borders, diplomats and EU officials have announced.

Ukraine wants an 'Eastern European Partnership', modelled on the defunct Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, as a precursor to future EU membership, the country's ambassador in Brussels told journalists yesterday (6 November)

According to Veselovski, the partnership's added value compared to the EU's current neighbourhood policy would reside in a joint effort to change perceptions about the region, which he said is too often portrayed as a conflict-ridden area unfit for EU integration. 

The EU wants to "deepen" its ties with four of its neighbours - Ukraine, Moldova, Morocco and Israel - external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in Brussels on Thursday (3 April).

The ENP covers Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine, as well as the Palestinian Authority. It was designed with the aim of offering EU neighbours closer – or privileged – cooperation with the bloc, but it does not foresee eventual EU membership, a fact repeated regularly by Brussels. But referring to Ukraine, Ms Ferrero-Waldner noted: "For the future, nothing is ruled out and nothing is ruled in, the [EU] door is neither open nor closed."

03.04.2008 - Die Europäische Union hat im Rahmen der Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik (ENP) ihre Beziehungen zu den Nachbarländern deutlich ausgebaut. Dabei konnten Reformen in den Bereichen Demokratisierung und Wirtschaft erfolgreich unterstützt werden. In ihrer heutigen Mitteilung benennt die EU-Kommission konkret erzielte Fortschritte in den Bereichen politischen Zusammenarbeit, Handel, Migration und Visaerleichterungen, Energie, Verkehr, Forschung und Innovation bis hin zur Mobilität von Studenten und Jugendlichen.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie hier. Zu den einzelnen Länderberichten gelangen Sie hier. Mehr zur Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik finden Sie auf den Seiten der Kommission.

How effective and relevant is European Union political conditionality for the promotion of democracy in third countries? This article reports the results of a panel study of 36 countries of the East European and Mediterranean neighbourhood of the EU for the years 1988—2004. The analysis shows robust and strong effects of EU political conditionality on democracy in the neighbouring countries if the EU offers a membership perspective in return for political reform. Absent the offer of membership, however, EU incentives such as partnership and cooperation do not reliably promote democratic change. The analysis controls for economic development and transnational exchanges as two alternative potential causes of democratization. Although economic and geographical factors have an impact on democratization in the European neighbourhood as well, EU political conditionality remains a significant influence. Key Words: conditionality • democratization • Eastern Europe • European Union • Mediterranean countries

How effective and relevant is European Union political conditionality for the promotion of democracy in third countries? This article reports the results of a panel study of 36 countries of the East European and Mediterranean neighbourhood of the EU for the years 1988—2004. The analysis shows robust and strong effects of EU political conditionality on democracy in the neighbouring countries if the EU offers a membership perspective in return for political reform. Absent the offer of membership, however, EU incentives such as partnership and cooperation do not reliably promote democratic change. The analysis controls for economic development and transnational exchanges as two alternative potential causes of democratization. Although economic and geographical factors have an impact on democratization in the European neighbourhood as well, EU political conditionality remains a significant influence

Germany's close relations with Russia are the main obstacle to signing a major EU-Ukraine treaty at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit in France, Ukraine diplomats say, warning that failure to seal the deal will signal to Moscow that it can veto EU policy on post-Soviet states.

"There are maybe two or three countries who are strong opposers, strong sceptics," Ukrainian deputy foreign minister Konstantin Yeliseyev said in Brussels on Thursday (28 August), commenting on EU reluctance to state clearly that "the future of Ukraine lies in the European Union" in the preamble to the new treaty

Following France's example with the EuroMed proposal, Poland and Sweden are due to present an 'Eastern Initiative' at a meeting next week, in a move which diplomats warned could ruin the EU's patient efforts to craft a common external policy.

The Commission's attempt to forge a European Neighbourhood Policy with countries on its southern and eastern borders will be dealt another blow when Poland and Sweden present their joint proposal for an 'Eastern Initiative' at a meeting of foreign ministers on Monday (26 May). 

EU and Ukrainian leaders will today (14 September) meet to discuss advancements on a new bilateral agreement with Kiev hoping it will make a clearer allusion to eventual EU integration, but Brussels is still keeping Ukraine at arm's length.

The enlarged European Union needs new instruments for exporting stability and change into the fragile regions and countries beyond its borders. That is why the EU is developing and implementing the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP): a strategic concept which is to enhance the Unionïs capability to be a driver of reform - without automatically promising the " golden carrot" of membership to the neighbours. This book provides the reader with information on what ENP wants, how it works and what the prospects of the Unionïs cooperation with neighbouring countries are.

Brussels should give Moldova a clear perspective for future EU entry on the model of the Western Balkan states, Romanian president Traian Basescu said in the European Parliament on Wednesday (31 January) in a sign of how Europe's poorest state stands to benefit from the Bucharest lobby inside the EU.

Conceived in 2003 and 2004, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has now had two years of operational experience. This initial experience has seen a sorting out of the partner states, with Action Plans drawn up for five Eastern and seven Southern partner states. This paper distinguishes among these 12 states between the ‘willing’ and the ‘passive’; and among the other partner states without Action Plans between the ‘reluctant’ and the ‘excluded’. The authors argue that these groupings should be the basis for stronger differentiation in the policy packages offered by the EU. The authors also argue that the general political context now calls for a strong reinforcement of the ENP, since the benign situation of 2004 has given way now to a more menacing one, given threats to European values bearing down on the EU from all sides. Accordingly, they outline a 15-point programme for achieving a qualitative upgrading of the ENP, to give it strategic leverage, rather than allowing it to be seen as a poor cousin of the enlargement process.

Die Europäische Union sucht nach neuen und effizienten Instrumenten für die Beziehungen zu ihrem unmittelbaren geographischen Umfeld. Die Europäische Nachbarschaftspolitik (ENP) zielt darauf ab, Stabilität und Prosperität in die östliche und südliche Peripherie der Union zu exportieren, ohne dabei automatisch eine Mitgliedschaft versprechen zu müssen. Das Buch, in dem Fachleute aus Wissenschaft und politischer Praxis zu Wort kommen, gibt zunächst einen Überblick über Beweggründe und Funktionsweise des strategischen Rahmens ENP. Exemplarisch gibt dann Einblick in wichtige Kooperationsfelder zwischen der EU und ihren Nachbarn, etwa Wirtschaft und Handel, Justiz und Inneres, Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, Demokratisierung oder Energie. Schließlich werden Anregungen gegeben, wie die EU mit dem Widerspruch zwischen engerer Einbindung der Nachbarn und der Wahrung ihrer Handlungsfähigkeit umgehen kann.

Brussels' new neighbourhood policy will try and get ex-Soviet states to catch up with Mediterranean rim countries in terms of pro-EU reforms - but the policy is not up to the job, one of the EU's biggest neighbours, Ukraine, says. The new-look "European Neighbourhood Policy" (ENP) will see the EU boost its role in eastern issues such as conflict resolution in Georgia and Moldova by getting involved for the first time in multilateral foreign ministers' meetings of nearby post-Soviet states.

In 2004, the European Union adopted the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)[1] to support its partners’ political, economic and social reform processes and to deepen bilateral relations with them. Today, Commission reports on the progress achieved by the first partners to have agreed ENP Action Plans with the EU: Ukraine, Moldova, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Morocco – during the first eighteen months of their implementation.

Die für Außenbeziehungen und > Europäische Nachbarschaftspolitik zuständige EU-Kommissarin Benita > Ferrero-Waldner hat heute neue Vorschläge zur Stärkung und > Weiterentwicklung der Europäischen > Nachbarschaftspolitik > [1] > vorgelegt. Die ersten achtzehn Monate praktischer Umsetzung der > Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik (ENP) waren bereits erfolgreich. In > ihrer jüngsten Mitteilung zur Europäischen Nachbarschaftspolitik legt > die Kommission jetzt dar, wie die ENP noch wirksamer gestaltet werden kann, > indem die EU reformwilligen Partnern hilft, ihre Reformen schneller und > effizienter voranzubringen, und sie bei eher reformträgen Partnern mehr > Überzeugungsarbeit leistet und ihnen mehr Anreize bietet. Der Mitteilung > mit den neuen Vorschlägen sind im Anhang Berichte über die > Fortschritte in den Partnerländern, die 2005 mit der Umsetzung ihrer > ENP-Aktionspläne begonnen > haben > [2] > , > beigefügt. Die Mitteilung über die Europäische > Nachbarschaftspolitik wird auch während der Ratspräsidentschaft, die > Deutschland im ersten Halbjahr 2007 übernehmen wird, wieder aufgegriffen > werden. >