Cross-border cooperation over the Eastern EU border: between assistance and partnership under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument

Abstract

The article explores the practices of cross-border cooperation (CBC) at the Eastern border of the European Union (EU) from the point of view of contributing to the emergence of non-hierarchical interaction patterns in the EU-neighbour relations. Using the concept of regional mobilisation, it builds upon the network of governance literature by providing a framework for including the impact of external partners on the process of creating the “shared policy spaces” transcending the external EU borders. The article analyses nine European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) CBC Programmes and argues that the partnership principle enshrined in the EU's policy approach has not yet resulted in the emergence of new, partnership type and cooperation practices. It demonstrates that although the Programmes’ institutional structures have been created on the principle of partnership, the ENPI's implementation framework is still guided largely by the traditional hierarchical mechanisms of EU external relations. As a result, the engagement of neighbouring partners remains insufficient to allow for the emergence of “shared spaces of network governance” across the EU's Eastern borders. It is suggested that the partnership principle within the ENPI CBC can be strengthened by creating more opportunities for the mobilisation of regional actors in the Eastern neighbourhood.