Book Description

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was initiated in 2004, a year which saw the largest single expansion of the European Union (EU) with the accession of 10 new Member States. The main objective of the ENP was to avoid the emergence of dividing lines between an enlarged EU and its closest neighbours. There are currently 16 neighbours within the ENP, of which six in the east: they are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In May 2011, the ENP was revised, offering increased support, stronger bilateral partnerships and further economic integration to those countries promoting democratic reforms, the rule of law and respect for civil society and human rights. The ENP is complemented by regional and multilateral cooperation initiatives, for example, the Eastern Partnership which has four main areas of cooperation between the EU and its eastern neighbours: democracy, good governance and stability (platform 1); economic integration and convergence with EU policies (platform 2); energy security (platform 3); and contacts between people (platform 4).