After recent enlargements, the EU sought to develop a new strategy that would incentivise rather than compel, in the absence of a membership prospect, the neighbours for reform. The concept of partnership was placed on the agenda as a supplementary tool of EU governance to offset negative externalities of convergence and compliance. However, it has taken the EU three conceptual iterations to finally identify a suitable frame for engagement. This paper posits that the EU is currently at a critical juncture observing an important shift in its modus operandi – away from hierarchical coordination and control, to more networked relations of self-censorship and ownership, designed to operate through a complex matrix of grass-root initiatives to penetrate all levels of society. To make it an effective model for the future external relations, the EU still requires two important elements – institutionalisation of the new governance structure, and learning about ‘the other’, to mobilise partners’ support for reciprocal and sustainable cooperation
