EU neighbouring countries:

  European Union

  Official candidates

  European Neighbourhood Policy

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union (EU) which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the EU into the EU. These countries, primarily developing countries, include many who seek one day to become either member states of the European Union itself, or generally more closely integrated with the economy of the European Union.

The EU offers financial assistance to countries within the European Neighbourhood, so long as they meet the strict conditions of government reform, economic reform and other issues surrounding positive transformation. This process is normally underpinned by an Action Plan, as agreed by both Brussels and the target country. The ENP does not cover countries which are in the current EU enlargement agenda, the European Free Trade Association or the western European microstates.

The EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in a country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets (industrial goods, agricultural products, etc.), and financial or technical assistance.

European Neighbourhood Policy:

  EU Member states

  Current Enlargement agenda

  ENP east group (EaP)

  Other ENPI states

  ENP south group (UfM)

  Other UfM states

History[link]

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (or Barcelona Process) is a wide framework of political, economic and social relations between member states of the EU and countries of the Southern Mediterranean. It was initiated on 27–28 November 1995 through a conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, held in Barcelona. Besides the 27 member states of the European Union, the remaining "Mediterranean Partners" are all other Mediterranean countries without Libya (which has had 'observer status' since 1999). Since the establishment of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument in 2007 the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership initiative will become fully a part of the wider European Neighbourhood Policy. The *ENPI Info Centre was launched in January 2009 by the European Commission to make more known the relationship between the EU and its Neighbours.

The Association Agreements signed with the Mediterranean states aim at establishing of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area. Earlier, the EU's neighbourhood policy was realized through New Neighbours (2002) and Wider Europe (2002–2004) initiatives.

According to the European Union's official site, the objective of the ENP is to share the benefits of the EU’s 2004 enlargement with neighbouring countries. It is also designed to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours. The vision is that of a ring of countries, drawn into further integration, but without necessarily becoming full members of the European Union. The policy was first outlined by the European Commission in March 2003. The countries covered include all of the Mediterranean shores of Africa and Asia, as well as the European CIS states (with the exception of Russia and Kazakhstan) in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. Russia insisted on the creation of the four EU-Russia Common Spaces instead of ENP participation.

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry has expressed interest in the ENP^[1] and some MEPs have also discussed Kazakhstan's inclusion in the ENP [7].

Agreements[link]

In recent history, such agreements are signed as part of two EU policies: Stabilisation and Association process (SAp) and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The countries of the Mediterranean and the East European EU neighbours (including South Caucasus, but excluding Russia that insists on creating four EU-Russia Common Spaces) are covered by ENP through the External Relations directorate-general. In the ENP Association Agreements (as in similar AAs signed with Mexico and other states) there is no mention of EU membership—this is a concern only to the European ENP states, because for the Mediterranean it is obvious that they cannot join the union in its current form because they are not located in Europe. The ENP AAs are similar to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements signed with CIS states in the 1990s and to the multiple other AAs governing the relations between the EU and other third countries. The ENP stipulates that after signing of AA with a particular country the EU will make a Country Report and then the two sides will agree on an Action Plan drafted by the EU (including particular reforms, actions and also aid by the EU) for the next three to five years.

Both the SAA and ENP AP are based mostly on the EU's acquis communautaire and its promulgation in the cooperating states legislation. Of course the depth of the harmonisation is less than for full EU members and some policy areas may not be covered (depending on the particular state).

There are some indications [8] that the ENP countries may be divided into two groups—European states with explicitly stated EU membership possibility for the long term and Mediterranean states with no such statement in the Action Plans. This division is obvious in the two groups for multilateral activities that are meant to supplement the bilateral ENP Action Plans—the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean.

Association Agreements have to be ratified by all the EU member states. AA signed with the Mediterranean states also include a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and the third country. For the East European EU neighbours covered by the ENP such provisions are expected for some of the next Action Plan periods.

Criticism[link]

The Arab Spring in North Africa has shed light on the close personal and business ties between governing elites in EU member states and their Mediterranean counterparts. For example, France’s Foreign Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie was forced to resign due to public outrage over her links to the ousted Ben Ali regime in Tunisia.^[2] In 2008 the EU tried to negotiate a association agreement with Libya and earmarked €60mln in ENPI funds to the country over the 2011-2013 period.^[3]

Progress[link]

(brackets): expected date
sources: [12], [13], ENP official page [14]

Statistics[link]

State (18) [22]	GNI[23]	GDP[24]	GNI PPP[25]	GDP PPP[26]	HDI[27]	life exp.[28]	CPI[29]	press freedom[30]	internet users[31]	WTO[32]	VWP[33]
Algeria	3,620	4,922	7,640	6,927	0.748	72.4	3.2	31.33	10.4	obs	20.3
Armenia	2,640	3,400	5,900	5,436	0.777	72.1	2.9	22.75	5.8	WTO	53.3
Azerbaijan	2,550	6,142	6,260	8,958	0.758	67.5	1.9	53.63	18.3	obs	14.0
Belarus	4,220	6,058	10,740	12,344	0.817	69.0	2.0	58.33	29.0	obs	21.1
Egypt	1,580	2,108	5,400	5,904	0.716	71.3	2.8	50.25	12.9	WTO	35.3
Georgia	2,120	3,060	4,770	5,001	0.763	71.0	3.9	31.25	7.8	WTO	46.6
Israel	21,900	26,535	25,930	28,245	0.930	80.7	6.0	80.83	n/d	WTO	3.0
Jordan	2,850	3,266	5,160	5,171	0.769	72.5	5.1	36.00	n/d	WTO	43.2
Kazakhstan	5,060	9,075	9,700	11,563	0.807	67.2	2.2	35.33	12.4	obs	11.7
Lebanon	5,770	7,375	10,050	12,063	0.796	72.0	3.0	14.00	n/d	obs	27.9
Libya	9,010	17,468	14,710	14,593	0.840	74.0	2.6	61.50	4.2	obs	27.1
Moldova	1,260	1,830	2,930	3,153	0.719	68.9	2.9	21.38	16.2	WTO	36.7
Morocco	2,250	2,901	3,990	4,432	0.646	71.2	3.5	32.25	19.2	WTO	24.0
Palestine	n/d	n/d	n/d	n/d	0.731	73.4	n/d	66.88	n/d	x	55.6
Russia	7,560	12,578	14,400	16,160	0.806	65.5	2.1	47.50	27.0	obs	7.5
Syria	1,760	2,237	4,370	4,668	0.736	74.1	2.1	59.63	n/d	x	33.1
Tunisia	4,351	4,032	9,060	9,550	0.762	73.9	4.4	48.10	27.0	WTO	23.9
Ukraine	2,550	4,318	6,810	7,633	0.786	67.9	2.5	19.25	14.6	WTO	30.9

See also[link]

• European integration
• Countries bordering the European Union
• Third-country economic relationships with the European Union
• ENPI Italy-Tunisia CBC Programme
• Eastern Partnership
• Union for the Mediteranean
• Northern dimension
• Arctic policy of European Union

References[link]

Relevant Reading[link]

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Books[link]

• Korosteleva, E.A, (2012),The European Union and its Eastern Neighbours: Towards a more ambitious partnership? London: BASEES/Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies, ISBN 0-415-61261-6
• Korosteleva E.A, (Ed.) (2011), Eastern Partnership: A New Opportunity for the Neighbours?, London: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-67607-X
• Korosteleva, E.A, (2011), The Eastern Partnership: Problems and Perspectives, (in Russian), Minsk: Belarusian State University

Academic Journal Articles[link]

• Elena Korosteleva: Belarusian Foreign Policy in a Time of Crisis’, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Special Issue, 27(3-4) 2011, pp. 566–86
• Elena Korosteleva:‘Change or Continuity: Is the Eastern Partnership an Adequate Tool for the European Neighbourhood’, International Relations, 25(2) 2011, pp. 243–62
• Elena Korosteleva:‘Eastern Partnership: a New Opportunity for the Neighbours?’, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Special Issue, 27(1) 2011, pp. 1–21
• Wolfgang Tiede and Jakob Schirmer: „Strategische Notwendigkeit – Die Östliche Partnerschaft der Europäischen Union" („Strategic Necessity - The EU’s Eastern Partnership"), in „WeltTrends" (Zeitschrift für internationale Politik und vergleichende Studien), 71/2010, pp. 10–14.
• Elena Korosteleva:‘Moldova’s European Choice: Between Two Stools’, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 62(8) 2010, p. 1267-89
• Elena Korosteleva:‘The Limits of EU Governance: Belarus’ Response to the European Neighbourhood Policy’, Contemporary Politics, Vol. 15, No. 2, June 2009, pp. 229–45
• Elena Korosteleva and Gisselle Bosse: “Changing Belarus ? The Limits of EU Governance in Eastern Europe ”, Conflict and Cooperation, Vol.44, No. 2 2009, pp. 143–65
• Wolfgang Tiede and Jakob Schirmer: "Die Östliche Partnerschaft der Europäischen Union im Rahmen des Gemeinschaftsrechts" ("The European Union's Eastern Partnership under Community law") in Osteuropa-Recht (OER)) 2009 (German Law Journal), vol. 2, pp. 184–191

Book Chapters[link]

• Wolfgang Tiede und Jakob Schirmer: „The EU’s Eastern Partnership - Objectives and Legal Basis", in: "The European Legal Forum" (EuLF) 3/2009, pp. 168–174.

External links[link]

• European Neighbourhood Policy Website
• Website on the programming of EC development cooperation for the ENP region
• ENPI Info Centre
• Eastbook.eu - Portal on Eastern Partnership - (part of ENPI)

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Marek Maciej Siwiec
Marek Siwiec (2009)
Vice President of the European Parliament 13th Vice President in order of precedence
In office 1 January 2007 – 14 July 2009
President	Hans-Gert Pöttering
4th Chief of the Polish National Security Bureau
In office 19 February 1997 – 17 June 2004
President	Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Preceded by	Jerzy Milewski
Succeeded by	Tadeusz Bałachowicz
Personal details
Born	(1955-02-13) 13 February 1955 (age 57) Piekary Śląskie, Poland
Political party	Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union Party of European Socialists (as MEP)

Marek Maciej Siwiec (born on 13 March 1955 in Piekary Slaskie) is a Polish politician and since 2004 Member of the European Parliament for the Greater Poland Voivodship with the Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union, part of the Socialist Group and sits on the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. In the European elections of 2004 he obtained 36 985 votes. He was reelected MEP in 2009, gaining 64 976 votes.

From January 2007 to June 2009 he served as Vice President of the European Parliament. He also chaired the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. On 12 January 2010, he criticized the current EU policy toward the country saying in the European Parliament "Ukraine is in political chaos, which I think suits many people in the EU"^[1]. He was observer of the elections in Ukraine in 2006 and 2010.

Previously he was notable as Chief of the Polish National Security Bureau under President Aleksander Kwaśniewski.

Currently he serves as a coordinator of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats for the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. He is member of the Board of Yalta European Strategy foundation, President of European Friends of Israel, member of Global Leadership Council of Colorado State University.

Since 10 December 2011 he is vice-chairman of Democratic Left Alliance.

Education[link]

• 1980: Master of Physics, University of Mining and Metallurgy in Kraków (AGH)
• 1989: Post-graduate study in journalism at the Academy of Social Sciences – Centre for Education of the Foreign Service

Career[link]

• 1981–1982: Assistant at the Electronics Institute of AGH (1980–1982), traineeship with the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria, Australia
• 1990–1991: Editor-in-chief of the bi-monthly 'Student' (1985–1987), weekly 'ITD' (1987–1990) and the daily 'Trybuna'
• 1991–1997: Member of Parliament of the Polish Republic (Sejm)
• 1993: Spokesman for the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) Parliamentary Party
• 1993–1996: Member of the National National Broadcasting Council
• 1993–1996: Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
• 1996–2004: Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland
• 1997–2004: Chief of the National Security Bureau (Poland)
• 1997–2004: Vice-Chairman of the Consultative Committee of the Presidents of Poland and Ukraine
• Secretary of the National Security Council (2000–2004) head of the Polish Association of Friends of the Peres Centre for Peace
• Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation to Counter Terrorism and Biological Threats
• Member of the National Administration of the SLD
• Head of the national delegation to the Party of European Socialists in the EP
• Honours

Decorations[link]

• Order of Gedymin (1997, LT), Cavaliere di Gran Croce (1997, I), Ordem do Merito (1997, P), Ordre de Leopold (1999, B)
• National Order of Merit (2000, F)
• Ubique Patriae Memor (2002, BR)
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (2003, LT)
• Virtutea Militară (2003, RO)
• Royal Victorian Order (2004, GB)
• Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 4th and 3rd Class (1997, 2004, UA)

Controversies[link]

During presidency campaign in 2000 a film was published revealing Marek Siwiec, then the chief of National Security Bureau, allegedly parodying a gesture of then pope John Paul II (making a cross sign in the air on arrival). President Kwaśniewski allegedly encouraged Siwiec to make a parody of pope's another gesture (kissing the soil).

See also:

• European Parliament election, 2004 (Poland)
• European Parliament election, 2009 (Poland)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Marek Siwiec's blog in English
• Official website of Marek Maciej Siwiec: www.mareksiwiec.pl
• European Parliament biography of Marek Maciej Siwiec (incl. Speeches, Questions and Motions)
• Declaration (PDF) of financial interests (Polish)