THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY: AN EFFECTIVE FOREIGN POLICY TOOL FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION?

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1 THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY: AN EFFECTIVE FOREIGN POLICY TOOL FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION? A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY BURCU MAZLUM IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EUROPEAN STUDIES JULY 2007

2 ABSTRACT THE EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY: AN EFFECTIVE FOREIGN POLICY TOOL FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION? Mazlum, Burcu M.S., Department of European Studies Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sevilay Kahraman July 2007, 133 pages This thesis assesses whether the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) could evolve as an effective foreign policy tool of the EU. It aims to analyze the ENP s impact on the EU foreign policy in general and the Union s transformative capacity over its neighbours in particular. To this purpose, the thesis initially explores the underlying motives behind the origins and emergence of the ENP and further elaborates its policy framework and its phase of implementation so far. The thesis then identifies the limits of the ENP, namely the internal and external constraints of the policy and on the basis of these shortcomings, discusses the overall impact of the ENP on the EU foreign policy. More specifically, the thesis focuses on the ENP s impact analysis for the EU s transformative capacity in its direct neighbourhood. Finally, the thesis assesses the main reasons of why it seems unlikely that the ENP could not evolve as a fully-fledged foreign policy tool for the Union and highlights the need for a major reform or re-adjustment of the policy. Keywords: Neighbourhood Policy, EU Foreign Policy, Enlargement, EU s Normative / Civilian Identity

3 ÖZ AVRUPA KOMŞULUK POLİTİKASI: AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ İÇİN ETKİN BİR DIŞ POLİTİKA ARACI MI? Mazlum, Burcu Yüksek Lisans, Avrupa Çalışmaları Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Sevilay Kahraman Temmuz 2007, 133 sayfa Bu tezde, Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası nın Avrupa Birliği (AB) nin etkin bir dış politika aracı olarak gelişip gelişemediği incelenmiştir. Tezin amacı, Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası nın genel olarak AB ortak dış politikası, özel olarak ise AB nin komşuları üzerindeki dönüştürücü kapasitesini ele almaktır. Bu amaçla, tezde, öncelikle, Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası nın ortaya çıkışı ve mantıksal temelinin altında yatan nedenler ele alınmış ve politikanın çerçevesi ve günümüze dek süren uygulama aşaması incelenmiştir. Tezde, daha sonra, Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası nın iç ve dış zorluk ve sınırları tanımlanmış ve bunlara dayanarak politikanın AB dış politikası üzerindeki etkisi tartışılmıştır. Bu bağlamda, tezde, özellikle, Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası nın AB nin yakın coğrafyasındaki dönüştürücü kapasitesi üzerindeki etkisi analiz edilmiştir. Tezde, son olarak, Avrupa Komşuluk Politikası nın, AB nin etkin bir dış politika aracı olarak gelişemeyeceğinin nedenleri incelenmiş ve politikanın yeniden düzenlemesi veya güçlendirilmesine gerek duyulduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Anahtar Kelimeler: Komşuluk Politikası, AB Dış Politikası, Genişleme, AB nin Normatif / Sivil Kimliği

4 TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM....iii ABSTRACT iv ÖZ v DEDICATION vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....vii TABLE OF CONTENTS..viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS..xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. WHAT IS EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY EVOLUTION OF THE ENP THE CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND TO THE ENP THE LAUNCH OF THE ENP THE WIDER EUROPE COMMUNICATION AND THE ENP STRATEGY PAPER THE ENP AS THE EU S NEW FOREIGN POLICY INITIATIVE ENLARGMENT VERSUS THE ENP THE ENP AND PREVIOUS NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICIES THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA AND THE ENP THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERSHIP AND THE ENP THE NORTHERN DIMENSION AND THE ENP ENP S INNOVATIVE FEATURES CONCLUSION FRAMEWORK OF THE ENP GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE THE EASTERN EUROPEAN PARTNERS THE SOUTHERN MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERS.40

5 3.1.3 THE SOUTHERN CAUCASUS PARTNERS THE OBJECTIVES OF THE ENP INCENTIVES OFFERED CONDITIONALITY AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES ENP IN IMPLEMENTATION: THE ACTION PLANS CONTENT OF THE ACTION PLANS BASIC PRINCIPLES OF THE ACTION PLANS IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING OF THE ACTION PLANS CONCLUSION LIMITS OF THE ENP INHERENT CONSTRAINTS OF THE ENP CONDITIONALITY AND COMPLIANCE THE CAPABILITY-EXPECTATIONS GAP SKEPTICAL APPROACH OF THE PARTNER COUNTRIES THE EU S INTERNAL CONSTRAINTS CONSTITUTIONAL FAILURE AND THE DECLINE OF LEGITIMACY DEADLOCK IN EU DECISION-MAKING THE EU S EXTERNAL CHALLENGES THE LARGER EU AND ITS NEAR ABROAD THE EU-RUSSIA RELATIONS THE US-EU (TRANSATLANTIC) RELATIONS CONCLUSION ENP S IMPACT ON THE EU FOREIGN POLICY ENP AND THE EU FOREIGN POLICY THE DEBATE ON THE EU S TRANSFORMATIVE IDENTITY EU AS A CIVILIAN / NORMATIVE POWER CRITICAL DEBATE ON THE EU S CIVILIAN / NORMATIVE IDENTITY ENP S IMPACT ON THE EU S INTERNATIONAL ROLE CONTRADICTIONS IN THE ENP S NORMATIVE RATIONALE...100

6 5.3.2 NORMATIVE WEAKNESS IN THE ENP S INSTRUMENTS AND CAPABILITIES CONCLUSION CONCLUSION.111 BIBLIOGRAPHY.116