The European Union’s credibility–expectations gap in its European neighbourhood policy: perspectives from Georgia and Ukraine

ABSTRACT

Fifteen years have passed since the European Union launched the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Despite the EU’s attempts to reload the ENP, first in 2011 and later in 2015, in response to challenges in the neighbourhood, the ENP continues to suffer from a credibility-expectations gap. This article argues that understanding neighbour perceptions of the ENP offers useful insights about the ENP. Supported by twenty-five interviews with Georgian and Ukrainian public officials, the article unveils the EU’s credibility challenge in the Eastern neighbourhood caused by a gap between the EU’s own perception of its role and the role expectations held by the ENP partners, as well as a gap between partners’ expectations and the EU’s performance on the ground. The lack of coherence, legitimacy and consistency has undermined the credibility of the ENP in the eyes of its Eastern partners. The latest review of the ENP does not seem to address the credibility challenge.

KEYWORDS:

• European neighbourhood policy
• eastern partners
• credibility
• perceptions
• ENP review
• expectations
• roles

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Twenty-five anonymous interviews were conducted with Georgian and Ukrainian public officials from European integration departments and units of various ministries who have been closely involved with the elaboration and implementation of ENP Action Plans.

2. Interview with a Georgian public official 2017.

3. Interviews with Georgian and Ukrainian public officials 2017.

4. Interview with a Georgian public official 2017.

5. Interviews with several Georgian and Ukrainian public officials 2017.

6. Interview with a Ukrainian public official 2017.

7. Interview with a Georgian public official 2017.

8. Interview with a Georgian public official 2017.

9. Interviews with a Georgian public officials 2017.

10. Interviews with Georgian public officials 2017.

11. Interviews with Georgian public officials 2017.

12. Interviews with Georgian public officials 2017.

13. Interview with a Ukrainian public official, see also (Schunz 2017).

14. Interview with a Georgian public official 2017.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mariam Dekanozishvili

Mariam Dekanozishvili is Assistant Professor of Politics and Global Studies Advisor at the Department of Politics, Coastal Carolina University. She received her M.A. in European Affairs from Lund University, Sweden, and another M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of South Carolina. Her area of teaching and research is European/EU politics, with a particular focus on European Neighborhood Policy and EU energy policy. She is the author of The European Neighborhood Policy: The South Caucasus Dimension published in 2011. Before entering academia, she worked for the Ministry of European Integration of Georgia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.