The future of the European neighbourhood policy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the future of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in terms of its objectives. In order to do this, the reasons behind this policy tool, its structure, and the changes it brought to the EU's relationships with its neighbours are analyzed. The article investigates the areas in which the ENP has been successful and pinpoints the deficiencies which have lead to its failure in other areas. The analysis concludes that the ENP has enhanced the EU's role in the international arena and improved the credibility of its foreign, security and defence policies despite the fact that it is still a very new policy. Nevertheless, the policy is by no means perfect and there exists scope for further improvement in terms of its effectiveness. ; peer-reviewed