Conceptual Factors Behind the Poor Performance of the European Neighbourhood Policy
Conceptual Factors Behind the Poor Performance of the European Neighbourhood Policy

Summary/Abstract: In recent years, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has once again become a politically prominent issue in the European Union’s (EU’s) external-action agenda. This is mainly because of growing conflicts in neighbouring countries from Libya to Ukraine and the EU’s inability to contribute to sufficiently improving security in these states. There has also been a significant rise in criticism in discourse on the ENP, to some extent even giving the impression that the policy as a whole has failed. This study pinpoints and analyses the main factors behind the poor performance of the ENP in terms of guaranteeing security in countries neighbouring the EU. The key issue is whether and to what extent the policy’s failure has been caused by controversies rooted in differing expectations, interests and goals of EU member states and ENP target countries, or by the controversial conceptual approach that underlies the policy. Issues relating to the upcoming ENP reforms are also of particular importance for Baltic countries, both in supporting political and economic reforms in former Soviet republics (including nations such as Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova) and determining the direction of EU relations with Russia.

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