Szymon Ananicz: "European Neighbourhood Policy - a new opening?"

European Neighbourhood Policy - a new opening?

Szymon Ananicz

In the Debate: ENP review - a proper response to a changing Neighbourhood? 

On 25 May the European Commission and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy announced a communication entitled „A new response to a changing Neighbourhood”. The document marks out the European Neighbourhood Policy’s (ENP) goals and principles of action for the coming years. The EC’s communication comes in response to the mounting conviction among member states and EU institutions of the ineffectiveness of current EU policy towards the neighbourhood regions. This conviction became stronger following the series of revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East which laid bare the fiasco of EU policy of promoting reforms in its neighbourhood.

Although the document is in large part a response to the recent events in North Africa, the previous proportions of EU engagement in the Southern and Eastern neighbourhood have nevertheless been retained. The key goal of the ENP review is to depend above all on the resolute execution of democratic, social and economic reforms in accordance with the principle of conditionality. Countries introducing reforms can count on a greater level of integration with the EU and financial aid. And vice versa: EU support will be reduced for countries which fail to introduce reforms. The principle of conditionality was supposed to Ahave been applied from the inauguration of the ENP in 2004 but in practice the EU did not observe it. This time the EU promises to apply the principle of conditionality more consistently. The communication however does not define how this principle is to be applied in practice. The application of conditionality will thus rely on decisions taken by member states and EU institutions on an ad hoc basis. It is too early now to judge how this will work in future.

The communication is also an attempt at making the framework of EU co-operation with the entire neighbourhood more uniform. It suggests that certain solutions applied in relations with the Eastern partners be carried over to the Southern neighbourhood, e.g. the creation of an EU-Southern  Mediterranean Energy Community on the model of the Energy Community linking the countries of the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Moldova), or creation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with South Mediterranean countries.

In terms of the EU’s offer to neighbourhood countries, this document is hardly a breakthrough. A stronger than usual emphasis was put on the need for the EU to support civil society in neighbourhood countries. The EU foresees support for the European Endowment for Democracy, and the creation of the Civil Society Facility, something NGOs have long waited for. The EU also foresees greater participation in the resolution of conflicts in the neighbourhood. It has not, however, pinned down any new mechanisms or instruments which would be used towards that end. In regard to the Eastern dimension of the ENP, the communication contains somewhat stronger provisions on the issue of lifting the visa regime. The communication also confirms the role of the Eastern Partnership as a regional dimension of the neighbourhood policy. In order to implement the goals of the reformed ENP the EU Commission intends to increase the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument by 1.2 billion euro to be spent by 2013. Besides these changes, the EU offer to neighbourhood countries remains similar and rests on entering into association and trade agreements, on facilitating travel, on EU support in economic development and on political, social and economic reforms.

Importantly, the Commission pledged to improve the procedure for programming and implementation of EU financial aid. The Commission has recently been under pressure from the European Parliament and the EU Council following the publication of the European Court of Auditors’ report which suggested the ENPI had been a failure. Acknowledgment of this in the communication permits us to expect progress in this area in future.
 
The communication had been meant to be published in April, but its announcement was delayed repeatedly due to a lack of compromise between member states and EU institutions. The final version of the document was intensively discussed with member states and so its position will be stronger than if it had been prepared solely by the EU Commission and the EEAS. The provisions of the communication may be viewed as the lowest common denominator of the expectations of member states and institutions as regards the European Neighbourhood Policy.

The new communication does not signify a breakthrough in the European Neighbourhood Policy but it does signify a very needed adjustments of it to the currently changing political context. Promises to improve and upgrade EU instruments in the neighbourhood are to be welcomed. Increased support for civil society and the earmarking of additional funds for the ENPI are a step in the right direction too. It is however unlikely that these changes will strengthen the EU’s position in the neighbourhood area to any significant degree. This will depend on whether the member states and EU institutions will be really committed to let the EU fulfil the obligations set out in the communication.
    
 
The main goals of the ENP reform:
 
1. An increase of support for fundamental
      ·  The adjustment of the level of aid to bring it in line with the level of engagement of Neighbourhood countries in reforms,
      ·  The creation of the Civil Society Facility,
      ·  Support for the European Endowment for Democracy,
      ·  The promotion of freedom of the press and access to means of communication,
      ·  A greater engagement for the EU in the resolution of conflicts in the Neighbourhood.
 
2. Support for economic development, linking all social groups
      ·  Activity to increase employment levels,
      ·  Entering into agreements on deep and comprehensive trade and extending concessions in mutual trade,
      ·  An improvement of conditions for investment,
      ·  Support for small and medium-sized entities,
      ·  Sectoral co-operation, including in the field of innovation, energy and transport,
      ·  Making travel easier (visas, readmission) and co-operation in the field of migration (partnerships for mobility).  
 
3. The promotion of regional co-operation in the East and South
      ·  The continuation of activity within the Eastern Partnership,
      ·  Strengthening the role of the EU Commission and the EEAS in the South Mediterranean area.
 
4. The assurance of appropriate mechanisms and instruments for the implementation of the above goals
      ·  Limiting the priorities of financial aid,
      ·  Increasing funds for the ENP,
      ·  A greater involvement of the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the Neighbourhood,
      ·  An improvement of the mechanism for planning and applying financial aid in the new financial perspective.

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