European Commission

Presentation by Mr. P. Nagy

By Y.C. Fon

The third lecture during our visit was given by Mr. P. Nagy, and dealt with the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Because of the recent enlargement of the European Union, new neighbours have been acquired and we have become closer to some of the old neighbours. The ENP is a response to this new situation and security became the main topic of this policy, as these days there are many emerging threats like terrorism and organized crime. With the enlargement changing the external borders of the Union, these threats may also enlarge.

The Second World War taught us that co-operation between states is important and very useful so an EU approach is necessary to deal with these threats. However, there should be no intervention in national security policy. The Union respects the sovereignty of states and will only develop policies when it is necessary and allowed by the Member States themselves. There are 25 member states at the moment, all of whom are involved in the development of the ENP.

The main purpose of the ENP is to form a 'ring of friends' around the EU. But it must be pointed out that joining the European Neighbourhood Policy is not a guarantee for access to the European Union. This policy will strengthen bilateral and regional relations and co-operation, as well as improving the stability, security and well-being for all the countries concerned. It is designed to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours and to offer them the chance to participate in various EU activities through greater political, security, economic and cultural co-operation.

Mr. Nagy also mentioned that Russia is a key partner of the EU in its immediate neighbourhood. Together, Russia and the EU have decided to develop their strategic partnership through creation of four common spaces, as defined at the St. Petersburg summit in May 2003.

This interesting lecture taught us that 'Europe' is not a simple concept to define. Whether politically or economically, Europe is always developing towards better co-operation between many different states, which have to co-exist on such a compact continent.

Editor's Note

The ENP is a new policy which combines the previous success of the Barcelona Process, which was an initiative for improved co-operation with the Mediterranean countries begun in the late 1990s, with efforts to develop a coherent strategy towards the Eastern neighbours. This new policy aims to improve co-operation with the Ukraine, Moldova, the Trans-Caucasian states (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) and, potentially, Belarus to the East, and Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, The Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon and - potentially - Syria and Libya in the Mediterranean region.

Potential Candidate-States (i.e. FYROM, Turkey, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria) are not included, and nor is Russia, which prefers to deal with the EU through the 'strategic partnership' mentioned above.

Webdesign by Olena Goloborodko