Eastern partnership: history of emergence and functioning

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Lviv Polytechnic National University

Eastern partnership: history of emergence and functioning

Roslon Dominika Tomashivna PhD in Political Science,

Assistant at the Department of Political Science and International Relations

Zavada Yaryna Ihorivna PhD in Political Science,

Assistant at the Department of Political Science and International Relations

Lviv

Abstract

The article examines the formation of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). It is noted that after extensive consultations within the EU, as well as consultations with its neighbors, the «European Neighborhood Policy» was officially announced in 2004, which covered 16 states, namely: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. In order to differentiate cooperation with the above-mentioned states, the EU used «Action Plans» created as a result of bilateral negotiations. The article also analyzes the history of the emergence and development of the EU's Eastern Partnership initiative which was formed and developed in parallel with the ENP and the idea of the «Mediterranean Union». In particular, the specifics of the establishment and functioning of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) have been determined. It is worth emphasizing that the EaP project was implemented by the European Union within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy, and it was Poland and Great Britain that drew attention to it. The Eastern Partnership included cooperation with six states: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The main goals of the initiative were: the establishment of political cooperation, the creation of deepened and strengthened free trade zones, as well as the abolition of the visa regime. As part of the implementation of the project, five main initiatives were also created, on the basis of which four thematic sectoral platforms were created for bilateral discussions to bring the states of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus closer to the EU. It is worth noting that the EaP program was of great importance for Ukraine and provided an opportunity to become a real regional leader in cooperation with the European Union.

Key words: Eastern Partnership, European Neighborhood Policy, European Union, Ukraine, Poland.

Introduction

The study of the history of the development and functioning of the Eastern Partnership is relevant in view of modern conditions. Since, with the launch of the Eastern Partnership initiative by the European Union, both within the academic environment and among practitioners, discussions continue not only about the forms of implementation, development prospects and chances of success, but also about the benefits that specific participating states receive.

Purpose and objectives. The purpose of the article is to study the history of the emergence and functioning of the EU's Eastern Partnership. In order to achieve the set goal, the following tasks must be completed: to investigate the formation of the European Neighborhood Policy; to analyze the Eastern Partnership of the EU, in particular to determine the peculiarities of its establishment and functioning; outline the role of Poland in the formation and development of the eastern direction of EU foreign policy.

Research methods. Research methodology is based on general and special methods of cognition. A systematic method was used to study the foundations and principles of the Eastern Partnership's functioning. With the help of the comparative method, common and distinctive features were revealed in the positions of Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the Eastern Partnership. The institutional method was involved in order to study the key institutional aspects of the formation and implementation of the EaP.

Results

Poland actively participated in the formation and implementation of the course of the Eastern policy of the enlarged EU. Poland's influence was significant, both before the emergence of a meaningful course of the EU's «Eastern» policy, and with the emergence of the «European Neighborhood Policy» and the formation and development of the «Eastern Partnership» initiative. It is worth noting that this was an attempt to draw Brussels' attention to issues important to Polish foreign policy, as well as to the role that Poland planned for itself as a full EU member. In March 2003, the European Commission published a communique «Wider Europe - Neighborhood: New Framework for Relations with Our Eastern and Southern Neighbors»[1]. Brussels has encouraged political and economic (institutional) reforms in neighboring countries with benefits arising from their access to the EU common market. The EU itself should also benefit from these changes, which, thanks to its neighbors, surrounded itself with a circle of stable and predictable states with developing economies - the «ring of friends» [4]. The basis of cooperation between the EU and each of the states were «Action Plans» (Action Plans)[1]. The harmonization of norms and standards created in this way was supposed to lead to the gradual Europeanization of the immediate environment of the EU, and as a result to the emergence of a group of partners.

After extensive consultations within the EU, as well as with its neighbors, the «European Neighborhood Policy» was officially announced in 2004, which covered 16 states, geographically distant, different from each other in many aspects (political, economic, cultural), in particular in expectations , related to cooperation with the European Union: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. In order to differentiate cooperation with individual states and their expectations, the EU used as a tool the aforementioned «Action Plans» created as a result of bilateral negotiations. Also, the European Commission published the document «European Neighborhood Policy. Strategy» (European Policy Strategy, EPS) [3, p.11-14]. May 12, 2004. It indicates the most important directions in which neighborhood cooperation should develop. In parallel with the formation of the European Union and the «Mediterranean Union», the idea of the «Eastern Partnership» (EaP) was formed and developed, as a practical attempt to find an answer to the question posed during the collapse of the USSR regarding the forms of involvement of the West in events on the territory of the Union of Independent States. It should be emphasized that Poland and Great Britain drew attention to the EaP at the turn of the 1990s and 2000s. [5, p.44]. States that have already implemented similar projects within the framework of the European Union expressed their support for the EaP initiative. First of all, we are talking about Finland, which was the initiator of the project called «Northern Dimension», which concerned the countries of northern Europe, namely Norway and Iceland.

Romania and Bulgaria were also participants in the Black Sea Synergy project, which concerned the states of the Black Sea basin. Allies of the Polish-Swedish initiative were also the Baltic states, i.e. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Due to their geographical location, these states are constantly interested in the Eastern policy of the European Union, as well as the development of the situation in the region. However, without a doubt, the most important thing for the initiative of the Eastern Partnership was its support from Germany, which finally made it clear that the project has a chance to be implemented [7, p. 120].

On May 7, 2009, the Eastern Partnership was initiated at the summit of the European Union in Prague. The EaP project was implemented by the European Union within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. It covered cooperation with six states: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. european policy cooperation eastern partnership

The main goals of the initiative were: the establishment of political cooperation, the creation of deepened and strengthened free trade zones, as well as the abolition of the visa regime. As part of the implementation of the project, five main initiatives were also created, covering the fields in which cooperation should take place on a multilateral basis.

They included:

a) creation of integrated border management programs in EU neighboring states;

b) supporting their small and medium-sized businesses;

c) support of regional electricity markets, as well as development of renewable energy sources and ensuring energy efficiency of national economies;

d) promotion of environmental protection;

e) implementation of the system of combating natural and man-made disasters.

In order to bring the states of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus closer to the EU, in addition to the mentioned fields of cooperation, four thematic sectoral platforms have been created within the framework of the main initiatives of the Union for bilateral discussions on the lines of the EU - its partner (state) on the following issues:

a) democracy, good neighborliness and stability;

b) economic integration and convergence with EU policy;

c) energy security;

d) interpersonal relations;

The introduction of thematic platforms provided an opportunity for both multilateral cooperation and bilateral discussions. Bilateral cooperation concerned both the political sphere, including the development and implementation of domestic and foreign policy courses, as well as the economic and cultural spheres. The Joint Declaration made it possible for various entities to participate in the Partnership. She emphasized that in addition to government institutions, parliaments, international organizations, local self-government, financial institutions, as well as subjects from the sphere of civil society and the private sector can also participate. Third countries could participate on a case-by-case basis, in specific actions, projects. And also at meetings of thematic platforms, if their participation could be useful for achieving the goals of the Partnership. The Council of Europe decided to participate in Eastern Partnership programs related to the fight against corruption and the improvement of the judicial system. The OSCE cooperates in the framework of raising the standards of human rights protection. Instead, the EBRD and the OECD participated in a program to support small and medium-sized businesses in Eastern partner states. Public organizations from the EU and partner states showed considerable interest in the Eastern Partnership. In December 2009, the first meeting of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership was held in Brussels [4]. About 200 public organizations took part in it. The Forum created a Steering Committee that coordinates the activities of NGOs with the EU and partner states. The work of the forum was aimed at promoting cooperation between societies and strengthening the civil aspect of the actions of the Eastern Partnership. In the bilateral dimension, the Eastern Partnership, covering the relations of the European Union with individual partner states, carried out measures aimed at concluding association agreements and establishing deep and comprehensive free trade zones.

It is worth noting that the Eastern Partnership did not arouse violent enthusiasm in the invited countries of the EaP (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan). In particular, Ukrainian leaders accepted the new program with pleasure, but at the same time emphasized that it cannot be a substitute for the future membership of their country in the EU [2, p.4]. At the official presentation of the EaP in Prague, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs B. Tarasyuk stated that the lack of prospects for Ukraine's membership in the EU is the main weakness of the Eastern Partnership [2, p.6]. The project did not cause lively reactions and comments, also in other Eastern European capitals. This indicated that effective consultations and information measures were not conducted in the states invited to the Eastern Partnership before its announcement.

The EaP program gave Ukraine a chance to become a real regional leader in cooperation with the European Union. Ukraine, being the largest state invited to the program, was also undoubtedly a leader in building strategic relations with the European Union. This has been the case since 2007 while the association agreement was being negotiated. And in the case of the rest of the states covered by the Eastern Partnership, negotiations on association were conducted only from 2010. A similar situation existed in the case of negotiations regarding the free trade zone, which Kyiv started in 2008 and therefore two years before all other states of the Eastern neighborhood [6, p.130-137]. The positive experience of Ukraine was considered as an example for others.

The main goal of the Eastern Partnership, in addition to association, exchange of goods and visa-free movement, was the creation of forms of structural cooperation, without which it was difficult to imagine any discussion about the prospect of Ukraine's future, even remote membership in the EU. Ukraine's accession to the Energy Community in February 2011 was also a positive moment in building mutual relations. The Energy Community is an initiative of the European Union created in 2006 to involve European countries from outside the EU in the process of improving energy security. At the time of signing the Energy Community Treaty outside the EU, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia joined it. Ukrainian politicians believed.

A well-coordinated association agreement and subsequent consistent policy in EU-Ukraine relations could have a fundamental and turning point in their relations on all fronts. The main thing was to start the process of harmonization of Ukrainian law with EU law. The compatibility of Ukrainian law at the time of the appearance of better conditions for the continuation of the EU enlargement process will be of fundamental importance for the perspective of Kyiv's membership in the Community. The implementation of the association agreement gave Ukraine the opportunity to distance itself from the post-Soviet legal and political system and approach European standards.

Conclusions

Therefore, the Eastern Partnership project is implemented by the European Union within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. This program is a tool for cooperation with former Soviet republics that demonstrate European aspirations or maintain close social (political and economic) relations with the EU. It covers the Union's cooperation with six states: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The goals of the «Eastern Partnership» include the creation of political association relations, deepened and comprehensive free trade zones, development of the partnership of the involved states with the EU, gradual liberalization of the visa regime, improvement of the structure of multilateral cooperation with partner states within the framework of four «thematic platforms» (democracy, good neighborliness, stability, economic integration),

It is worth noting that the EaP program gave Ukraine a chance to become a real regional leader in cooperation with the European Union. Ukraine, being the largest state invited to the program, was also undoubtedly a leader in building strategic relations with the European Union.

Bibliography

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References

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Анотація

Східне партнерство: історія виникнення та функціонування

Рослонь Домініка Томашівна

кандидат політичних наук, асистент кафедри політології та міжнародних відносин Національного університету «Львівська політехніка» Львів,

Завада Ярина Ігорівна

доктор філософії, асистент кафедри політології та міжнародних відносин Національного університету «Львівська політехніка» Львів,

У статті досліджено становлення (ЄПС) Європейської політики сусідства. Зазначено, що після широких консультацій всередині ЄС, а також консультацій із його сусідами, офіційно була проголошена в 2004 р. «Європейська політика сусідства», яка охопила 16 держав, а саме: Алжир, Вірменію, Азербайджан, Білорусь, Єгипт, Грузію, Ізраїль, Йорданію, Ліван, Лівію, Молдову, Мароко, Палестину, Сирію, Туніс та Україну. Щоб диференціювати співпрацю з вищезгаданими державами, ЄС використав «Плани дій» (Action Plans) створений в результаті двосторонніх переговорів. Також у статті проаналізовано історію винекнення та розвитку ініціативи Східного партнерства ЄС, яка паралельно формувалась і розвивалась із ЄПС та ідеєю «Середземноморського союзу». Зокрема, визначено особливості залочаткування та функціонування (СП) Східного партнерства. Варто підкреслити, що проект СП був реалізований Європейським союзом в рамках Європейської Політики Сусідства і саме Польща і Велика Британія привернули увагу до нього. Східне партнерство включало співпрацю з шістьма державами: Білоруссю, Україною, Молдовою, Грузією, Вірменією та Азербайджаном.

Основними цілями ініціативи були: встановлення політичної співпраці, створення поглиблених та зміцнених зон вільної торгівлі, а також скасування візового режиму. У рамках реалізації проекту також створено п'ять основних ініціатив, на основі яких створено чотири тематичні галузеві платформи для двосторонніх дискусій, щоб зблизити держави Східної Європи та Кавказу з ЄС. Варто зазначити, що програма СП мала вагоме значення для України та дала можливість стати реальним регіональним лідером у співпраці з Європейським Союзом.

Ключові слова: Східне партнерство, Європейська політика Сусідства, Європейський Союз, Україна, Польща.

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