Nazwa
neighbourhood policy

The Eastern Partnership: A Policy Striving at Building Good Neighbourhoodliness?

The Eastern Partnership: A Policy Striving at Building Good Neighbourhoodliness?

Authors

Pages

5-23

Abstract

The Eastern Partnership of the European Union, launched in 2008 on the initiative of Poland and Sweden, has the characteristics of a very complex policy addressed to three Eastern European countries – Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, and to three South-Eastern European countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The complexity of relations rises from the geographical, historical and geopolitical backgrounds. At the same time, these relations are imbued with various complications of internal and external nature. Considering these unusual, but present, complications, the article makes a retrospective of adopted acts that refer to the Eastern Partnership: The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council “Wider Europe – Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours” and the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council “Eastern Partnership”. A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy: “Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe” brings a new impetus in the framework of cooperation relations between the European Union and Eastern Partnership states. The relations are scrutinised through the prism of the neighbourhood policy and the Eastern Partnership policy. Positive and less positive results are revealed, accompanied by inherent challenges; all these serving as a kind of food for positive thinking in building resilience in the Eastern Europe. Relevant matter-of-fact examples are given from all Eastern Partnership countries and the way to discuss them. Open conclusions provide issues to be re-visited (revised) and several recommendations.