Good Neighbours

Outside of the candidate countries, the EU manages relations with its nearest neighbours through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Launched in 2004, 16 partners are covered by the ENP: Algeria; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Egypt; Georgia; Israel; Jordan; Lebanon; Libya; the Republic of Moldova; Morocco; the occupied Palestinian territory; Syria; Tunisia; and Ukraine.

The EU has agreements with these countries based on common objectives such as tackling terrorism, trade, the environment and energy security.

Because some of the countries are economically disadvantaged, the EU provides financial and technical assistance to help reach these mutually beneficial goals.

The ENP provides our neighbours with a privileged relationship with the EU that’s further enriched through three important regional and multilateral co-operation initiatives.

These include the Eastern Partnership, which was launched in Prague in May 2009, and covers EU relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

These countries are strategically important as they’re close to EU borders so their security and stability can impact on Europe as a whole. An example of this was the conflict in Georgia in August 2008, which took the world by surprise and showed just how vulnerable they can be.

Although none of the six countries are currently candidates for EU membership the Eastern Partnership is helping these former Soviet states establish free-trade areas and forge closer political and social links with the EU.

The Eastern Partnership includes five flagship initiatives including the development of a southern energy corridor that will help secure Europe’s future energy supplies and measures to protect the environment from climate change or biodiversity loss.

Other important ENP regional initiatives include the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), formerly known as the Barcelona Process, and the Black Sea Synergy.

The Barcelona Process was an EU-Mediterranean partnership launched in November 1995 that aimed to promote peace and security and gradually establish free-trade in the area. It was re-launched in 2008 as UfM and a number of new projects addressing areas such as economy, environment, energy, health, migration and culture were initiated.

UfM also promotes democratic reform across the 16 nations included in the partnership to the EU’s south in North Africa and the Middle East. These are: Albania; Algeria; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Croatia; Egypt; Israel; Jordan; Lebanon; Mauritania; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; the Palestinian Authority; Syria; Tunisia; and Turkey.

Early in 2011 the EU was quick to offer its support for political change in some of the UfM north African nations when regimes toppled following mass public protests for reform.

The UfM has a number of key initiatives on its agenda that are important for Europe including the de-pollution of the Mediterranean Sea and a solar energy plan that explores opportunities for developing alternative energy sources in the region.

EU trade growth has also been strengthened by the partnership and one of its main aims is to further develop the Euro-Mediterranean (Euromed) free trade area. In 2009 EU total trade with the Euromed countries was €229 billion, or 10 per cent of total EU external trade.

The Black Sea Synergy is another ENP special regional initiative open to all Black Sea States, including Turkey, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. It aims to develop sector partnerships, particularly in three crucial areas - environment, transport and energy – which are issues high up on the EU agenda.

The initiative began with a conference between EU and Black Sea Foreign Affairs Ministers in Kiev (Ukraine) in 2008 and it’s hoped better cooperation between the EU and Black Sea states will open up new trade opportunities and encourage the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the region.