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Coherence in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)- A legal and political analysis of the ENPs eastern dimension

Kubek, G. (2014) Coherence in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)- A legal and political analysis of the ENPs eastern dimension.

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Abstract:The EU’s external relations may be viewed as an outcome of member states’ as well as EU policies stemming from the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) . This fragmented legal order makes it difficult for the Union to act coherently in the pursuit of its ceaseless goal of speaking with a single voice towards the wider world, thereby asserting its own identity on a world stage (Art. 3 (5) TEU). The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has been designed as a prototype to meet the challenge of coherent policy making. Nevertheless, practice reveals several drawbacks in the ENPs legal and political design as well as a fragmentation of different instruments that deal with the EU’s relations with its eastern and southern neighbours. The theoretical aim of erecting a prototype of coherence should therefore not be equalled with the actual promotion of a coherent policy towards certain neighbours. In this vein, the present thesis questions the extent to which the EU’s policies towards its eastern neighbourhood contribute towards coherent external action in that region. By drawing on pertinent scholarship, it is argued that the ENPs innovative nature in light of coherence primarily stems from its distinct placing within the TEU. This allows the policy to create a unique hybrid legal nature within and outside the Union’s legal order that streamlines soft and hard law instruments towards the common objective of human security. By utilizing the quantitative analysis model of van Vooren (2012), the present thesis seeks to determine the extent to which these propositions regarding coherence can be successfully replicated onto the ENPs eastern dimension. It is claimed that while the Unions policies towards its eastern neighbours are capable of fostering coherence through overcoming the EU’s competence divide internally, its effective external application may be hampered by the Union’s inability to determine a clear finalité on the matter and the policies lack of focus on the countries where the actual on-ground situation requires EU action the most.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:86 law, 89 political science
Programme:Public Administration BSc (56627)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/65231
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