Eastern Partnership: New Model of Integration?

(Narine Ghazaryan , University of Nottingham)

The Eastern Partnership was initiated by Poland and Sweden at the European Council in June 2008. It is meant to bring an 'Eastern dimension' to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and will include Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, the Eastern Partnership will cause a significant reorientation as regards the existing cooperation, where the European identity and aspirations of the neighbouring countries are acknowledged and Association Agreements are promised to be signed. In addition, the Eastern Partnership accepts the model of European Economic Area (EEA) for future cooperation.

In this context, the proposed paper will discuss the Eastern Partnership as a model of integration. Its contents and objectives will be revealed in comparison with the ENP which is based on the enlargement experience, though without membership perspective. This will be aimed at discovering to what extent the ENP and its principles are transferred to the Eastern Partnership In addition, accepting the EEA as a model for further relations will potentially transform the neighbouring countries into candidates for membership. Therefore, the level of integration the Eastern Partnership will offer to its 'European' neighbours will be discussed.