Cardwell, P. J.

City Research Online

              City, University of London Institutional RepositoryCitation: Cardwell, P. J. ORCID: 0000-0002-7485-3474 (2017). Book Review: Good Neighbourliness in the European Legal Context, edited by Dimitri Kochenov and Elena Basheska. (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2015). Common Market Law Review, 54(4), pp. 1254-1256. This is the accepted version of the paper. This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link:  https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/26640/Link to published version: Copyright: City Research Online aims to make research outputs of City, University of London available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyright holders. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to.Reuse: Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. City Research OnlineCity Research Online:            http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/            publications@city.ac.ukDimitri	Kochenov	and	Elena	Basheska,	Good	Neighbourliness	in	the	European	Legal	Context.	Leiden:	Brill	Academic	Publishers,	2015.	397	pages.	ISBN:	9789004299771.	EUR	140.			Paul	James	Cardwell,	University	of	Strathclyde		Of	the	vast	literature	available	on	the	internal	and	external	dynamics	of	the	EU,	there	has	been	little	attention	paid	to	what	being	a	‘good	neighbour’	entails.	This	is	surprising,	given	the	original	aim	of	the	EU	to	bring	the	Member	States	(who	remain	‘neighbours’	to	each	other)	closer	together	within	an	integration	process.	The	same	point	also	applies	externally,	again	despite	the	explicit	name	and	institutional	framework	of	the	European	Neighbourhood	Policy,	as	one	designed	to	promote	cooperation	and	harmony	beyond	the	EU’s	borders.	As	the	editors	note	in	the	opening	chapter,	good	neighbourliness	in	Europe	appears	to	be	lacking	in	the	context	of	ongoing	events	in	Crimea,	right	on	the	EU’s	doorstep.	Although	the	UK’s	EU	referendum	and	the	ensuing	debate	on	what	kind	of	‘neighbourly’	relationship	the	UK	and	EU	will	have	in	the	future	has	occurred	after	the	collection	was	completed,	this	context	would	appear	to	make	this	collection	even	more	timely	in	terms	of	understanding	‘good	neighbourliness’,	especially	where	the	internal-external	divide	is	blurred.		 This	collection	is	an	attempt	to	delve	into	the	legal	implications	of	‘good	neighbourliness’	across	an	impressive	range	of	bilateral	and	multilateral	relationships	inside	and	outside	the	EU.	As	is	common	for	legal	analysis	of	works	that	might	be	more	usually	found	amongst	the	volumes	by	political	scientists	on	EU	external	relations,	the	rationale	for	the	book	stems	from	the	value-oriented	dispositions	of	the	Treaty	and	public	international	law.	Herein	lies	the	challenge	faced	by	the	book:	piecing	together	a	wide-ranging	set	of	case	studies	but	lacking	a	pre-existing,	well-defined	principle	or	concept	in	EU	or	international	law	at	its	core.	The	central	premise	is	developed	from	the	PhD	thesis	of	Elena	Basheska,	the	second	editor	of	this	collection.	In	her	scoping	chapter	(2)	of	the	book,	she	takes	the	reader	on	a	tour	of	the	development	of	the	principle	of	good	neighbourliness	in	both	EU	and	international	law.	This	does	a	very	good	job	in	providing	a	coherent	core,	though	the	emphasis	is	squarely	on	the	black	letter	aspects	of	the	principle	as	expressed	by	law,	which	is	not	necessarily	the	focus	of	many	of	the	following	chapters.		 The	rest	of	the	book	is	divided	into	two	parts,	examining	good	neighbourliness	within	the	EU	(part	2)	and	beyond	it	(part	3).	In	part	2,	Kochenov’s	own	chapter	shifts	analysis	away	from	the	search	for	‘good	neighbourliness’	in	EU	law/international	law	to	illuminating	‘a	number	of	dark	corners	of	the	Union’s	legal	reality’	with	the	aim	of	‘helping	to	solve	a	number	of	outstanding	legal	problems’.	Kochenov	posits	that	the	good	neighbourliness	is	far	more	anchored	in	EU	law	than	in	international	law,	which	should	not	be	a	surprise	given	that	the	EU	is	a	process	of	integration.	It	is	not	entirely	clear	why	the	principle	helps	to	illuminate	the	‘dark	corners’	more	than	the	duty	of	loyalty,	which	he	says	the	principle	can	sit	alongside	or	indeed	how	it	could	be	deployed.	More	convincing	is	when	the	discussion	moves	to	characterise	the	principle	as	one	which	helps	project	the	values	of	the	Union	to	others,	primarily	the	newer	Member	States.	In	this	respect,	a	link	is	made	between	good	neighbourliness	in	the	internal	and	external	spheres	which	helps	to	distinguish	the	principle	as	a	specific	European	(EU)	one.	Van	Elsuwege’s	chapter	(in	part	3)	takes	the	analysis	further,	by	demonstrating	through	a	wide	range	of	examples	how	the	principle	in	accession	negotiations	has	moved	from	a	‘vague	reference’	in	1994	to	a	‘crucial	criteria’	by	tying	it	to	the	obligation	to	promote	regional	cooperation,	which	necessarily	indicates	neighbourly	cooperation.		 The	12	other	chapters,	6	in	each	part,	range	from	explorations	of	good	neighbourliness	in	the	European	Neighbourhood	Policy	to	(very)	specific	and	detailed	examinations	of	how	the	principle	plays	out	in	practice,	with	a	heavy	emphasis	on	the	Eastern	dimension	rather	than	the	Mediterranean.	Here,	the	book	finds	its	real	strength,	for	two	reasons.	First,	the	range	of	authors	is	impressive	and	–	significantly	–	includes	chapters	and	insights	from	scholars	based	outside	the	EU	in	neighbouring	countries	(e.g.	Petrov,	Kalinichenko).	This	enriches	the	scope	of	the	book	and	takes	it	beyond	a	common	trap	that	external	relations-focussed	works	sometimes	fall	into,	namely	overly-focussing	on	the	EU’s	institutional	questions,	rather	than	how	policies	are	received/perceived	in	the	third	or	‘target’	countries.	Second,	the	diversity	of	the	subject	matter	of	the	chapters	provides	a	rich	empirical	understanding	of	the	many	different	facets	of	what	‘good	neighbourliness’	entails.	These	range	from	the	Nagorno-Karabakh	conflict	(Ghazaryan),	to	Gibraltar	(Khachaturyan),	citizenship	and	Hungarian-Romanian	relations	(Blokker	and	Kovács)	and	the	internal	electricity	market	(Vedder).	Whilst	grouping	them	together	under	one	principle	is	an	ambitious	task,	the	editors	here	have	nevertheless	succeeded	in	compiling	a	collection	of	works	which	would	stand	alone	as	insightful	analyses	of	how	the	values	of	the	EU	are	visible	or	put	into	practice	in	the	internal	and	external	sphere.	Whilst	the	book	does	not,	in	the	view	of	this	reviewer,	provide	a	new	theoretical	basis	on	which	we	can	understand	the	EU,	this	is	a	timely	and	commendable	collection	which	enhances	the	available	literature	on	the	subject	for	political	science	as	well	as	legal	scholars,	and	those	with	research	interests	in	the	internal	and	external	spheres.	

Book Review: Good Neighbourliness in the European Legal Context, edited by Dimitri Kochenov and Elena Basheska. (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2015)

Cardwell, Paul James

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https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/26640/1/Cardwell%20Kochenov%20and%20Basheska%20review%20CMLR%20AAM.pdf

Book Review: Good Neighbourliness in the European Legal Context, edited by Dimitri Kochenov and Elena Basheska. (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2015)

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