ÒDoes the European Neighbourhood Policy Make a Difference? Policy Patterns and Reception in Ukraine and RussiaÓ

The European Neighbourhood Policy has, from its very beginning, seized the attention of scholars and has remained high ever since on the academic agenda. Among the large number of publications already produced, many have analyzed ENP objectives, methods and influence through a comparison with EU enlargement policy toward Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990Õs. This paper argues that an alternative picture of the ENP can be obtained through a comparison of policy rationale and implementation in two countries Ð one benefiting from the policy, Ukraine and the second having rejected it, Russia. Such comparison highlights discrepancies between (i) a discourse focusing on differentiation among countries (within and without the policy), (ii) the similarity of policy patterns and instruments proposed by the EU to Ukraine and Russia, and (iii) differences between Ukraine and Russia in policy reception, which contribute to shape two distinct modes of policy implementation (selective adaptation in the case of Russia and accommodated conditionality in the case of Ukraine).European Neighbourhood Policy, Transfer, Reception, Conditionality, Adaptation, Socialization

Towards a fragmented neighbourhood: policies of the EU and Russia and their consequences for the area that lies in between

In the current volatile climate, the EU needs a strategy towards Russia that goes beyond sanctions. In reviewing the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, the EU’s incoming leadership should be more sensitive towards the existing political, diplomatic, economic, energy and military ties between Russia and the countries in the common neighbourhood. After all, it is by exploiting these ties that Russia was able to turn this neighbourhood into an area of destructive competition − the primary victim of which is Ukraine. Understanding Russia’s perceptions and being sensitive to these longstanding ties does not mean justifying their use by the Kremlin. Nevertheless, factoring these ties into the EU’s policies vis-à-vis its Eastern neighbourhood is a prerequisite for more reflective, responsive and effective EU policies

The 2015 ENP Review: Beyond Stocktaking, the Need for a Political Strategy. College of Europe Policy Brief #1.15, December 2015

Executive Summary. The 2015 ENP Review offers the most extensive revision of the European Neighbourhood Policy ever since it was launched. > The Review signals a welcome shift in the EU’s policy approach. It overcomes the initial EUcentric approach focussing on the EU’s own experience and previous policies (first and foremost enlargement) and places partner countries’ aspirations and needs at the core of the revised neighbourhood policy. > However, the Review falls short of sketching out a real and much-needed strategic vision and of providing political impetus to the neighbourhood policy. > It remains also unclear how the EU intends to strike a balance between values and interests in the revised policy. > All this needs to be addressed in the next steps, either in the forthcoming discussions with the partner countries or in the upcoming positions of the EU’s institutions and policy-makers

The EU and Russia’s modernisation: one partnership, two views

Over the past year, ‘modernisation’ has emerged as a buzzword in the EU-Russia partnership, apparently giving flesh to a relationship that was largely said to be stalling before a new initiative, the Partnership for Modernisation, was launched in June 2010. The rationale for this project is similar to that underpinning the EU-Russia strategic partnership: a combination of strong interdependence and high complementarity between partners

Political Changes in Armenia: a Litmus Test for the European Union

Although they were essentially driven by domestic factors, the political events that unfolded in Armenia in April-May 2018 bear strong implications for external actors, particularly for the European Union (EU). This is because the EU regards itself as a promoter of human rights, democracy and the rule of law worldwide, especially in its neighbourhood. As part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) launched in 2004, the partner countries' effective commitment to 'shared values' (i.e., democracy, human rights and the rule of law) is a prerequisite to closer relations with the EU. Therefore, whether and how the European Union can diffuse its democratic values are crucial questions to gauge its influence in its vicinity

Regionalism as You Like It? Armenia and the Eurasian Integration Process

International audienceThe article seeks to provide insights into how the EAEU is used and exploited by local actors as an economic and political resource. It does so by delving into the preferences and practices of Armenian political elites and non-state actors. The article highlights multiple flexibilities in the Eurasian integration process. Uncertainties and flaws in the rule-making process create loopholes that are then exploited by domestic actors (that is, rule-takers) with a view to pursuing their own goals. Thus, processes of rule development and adoption entail a variety of nuances also involving translation, adjustment and adaptation. Therefore, the article brings strong nuances into the prevailing picture of Eurasian integration as an example of hard regionalism, and instead suggests the development of a malleable integration process

1989, bringing in a global Europe?

Whilst 1989 is widely acknowledged as a watershed in international relations, it is also regarded as a major upheaval in the course of European integration since its very beginning in the 1950’s. The nature of this regard, however, has overwhelmingly been univocal. The relationship between 1989 and the EU is commonly considered as a one-way process, with communism being finally “dissolved” into EU integration. Moreover, changes in the European integration process since 1989 have often been analyzed per se; there have been few attempts, if any, to connect 1989 and the EC/EU in a comprehensive way. The paper questions the unambiguous, linear and one-way character of the prevailing interpretations relating to the impact of 1989 on the European integration process. Through highlighting and discussing several dialectical trends, it sheds light on complex, multifaceted and open processes which call for re-assessing the impact of 1989 on Europe and the way the European Union has influenced 1989 and “managed” post-1989. It concludes that while the EU has been a major vector of change in CEE countries, 1989 has also induced wide-ranging, profound and long-term transformations on the European integration process, the exact impact of which is still difficult to assess. The EU picture resulting both from 1989 and from the choices made in the 1990’s is thus much more blurred and ambivalent

Armenia is becoming an important test-case for relations between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union

Armenia is one of the four members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which was formally established at the beginning of 2015. Laure Delcour and Kataryna Wolczuk write that pressure from Russia following Armenia’s growing engagement with the EU left the country with little choice but to sign up to the Eurasian Economic Union. However they argue that Armenia’s continued interest in pursuing cooperation with the EU will represent an important test-case for the co-existence between the EU and the EEU in the post-Soviet space

Bringing South Caucasus Closer to Europe: Achievements and Challenges in ENP Implantation. Natolin Research Paper 03/March 2011

While the initial Commission Communication on Wider Europe (March 2003) did not include Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the forthcoming policy for the EU’s new neighbourhood, the Southern Caucasus region has now gained considerable attention in the framework of the ENP and beyond, not least because of security considerations. The ENP undoubtedly represents a step forward in the EU’s policy towards Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, yet its implementation highlights major differences between the three countries and important weaknesses in all three of them. The Eastern Partnership addresses some of these weaknesses and it also significantly strengthens the EU’s offer to South Caucasus countries, which is now fully in line with the perspectives proposed to the Western NIS. The paper highlights five main conclusions and recommendations: • Political, economic, social and diplomatic developments in the South Caucasus in the 2000's highlight both diverging trends and the persistence of tensions between the three countries. They also have different aspirations vis-à-vis the EU and different records in ENP implementation. The EU should therefore mainly rely upon an individual approach towards each country. • While bilateral relations should form the basis of the EU's approach, most of the challenges faced by Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are not confined to national borders and require regional solutions. This applies primarily, but not exclusively, to the unresolved conflicts. The EU should promote targeted regional cooperation including, inter alia, confidence-building measures to address indirectly the protracted conflicts and measures supporting drivers of change, which play a critical role in the confidence-building process; • Under the ENP, especially since the opening of negotiations for association agreements and with the perspective of DCFTA, trade-related issues, market and regulatory reform have become prominent in the EU's relations with all three Caucasus countries. At the same time, the priorities identified when the ENP was launched, i.e. good governance and the rule of law, still correspond to major challenges in the South Caucasus. The EU should more clearly prioritise good governance and the rule of law as the basis of both the ENP and successful reforms; • In all partner countries (but even more so in the South Caucasus), ENP implementation has been adversely affected by poor administrative capacities and weak institutional coordination. The EU should increasingly focus on institutional reform/capacity building in its support to partner countries and ensure that the link between the ENP and domestic reform processes is strengthened; • In the South Caucasus the EU has recently concentrated on a few assistance tools such as budget support, Twinning and TAIEX. While these instruments undoubtedly bring an added value, they should be better combined with tools allowing for greater flexibility and targeting non-governmental actors, e.g. EIDHR/NSA

Towards a Fragmented Neighbourhood: Policies of the EU and Russia and their consequences for the area that lies in between. CEPS Essay No. 17, 17 October 2014

In the current volatile climate, the EU needs a strategy towards Russia that goes beyond sanctions. In reviewing the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership, the EU’s incoming leadership should be more sensitive towards the existing political, diplomatic, economic, energy and military ties between Russia and the countries in the common neighbourhood. After all, it is by exploiting these ties that Russia was able to turn this neighbourhood into an area of destructive competition − the primary victim of which is Ukraine. Understanding Russia’s perceptions and being sensitive to these longstanding ties does not mean justifying their use by the Kremlin. Nevertheless, factoring these ties into the EU’s policies vis-à-vis its Eastern neighbourhood is a prerequisite for more reflective, responsive and effective EU policies