New developments in the European neighbourhood policy: Ignoring the problems

This article provides a brief outline of the main developments that affected the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) structure in 2008 and 2009, considering both the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean. This analysis makes it clear that both new initiatives originated in a desire to distance the progress of the European Union (EU)'s relations with the Eastern European non-members and with the Mediterranean countries from the framework of the ENP, securing a positive change in the EU's engagement with the neighbourhood which the ENP failed to ensure. Although both attempts were not successful, the need to address the drawbacks of the new construct involving the ENP and the two new initiatives unable to solve any outstanding problems is absolutely clear. The article concludes with a call to reform the essence of the ENP which should replace the current approach of adding new layers of policy on top of the existing structures of unsound performance. A serious rethinking of the ENP is urgently required. Comparative European Politics (2011) 9, 581-595. doi:10.1057/cep.2011.18; published online 11 July 2011