The European Union’s Two Dimensions: The Eastern and the Northern

Abstract

In light of the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union, concerns over how the Union will deal with its new eastern neighbours have risen to some prominence. This article analyses Poland’s current efforts to get to grips with the new challenges posed by enlargement, as expressed in its policy initiative of the Eastern Dimension. In particular, the Eastern Dimension is compared with the EU’s Northern Dimension, which has been on the scene for some time. The argument of this article is that, despite some similarities and despite the fact that the Eastern Dimension has clearly been influenced by its Northern counterpart, key conceptual differences exist between the two initiatives. While the Northern Dimension opens up for overlapping spaces of governance, for being genuinely inclusive of outsiders and for emphasizing regionality in the construction of a new Europe, the Eastern Dimension remains more traditional in essence. Indeed, in some respects the Eastern Dimension, despite apparent intentions otherwise, will only contribute to re-bordering in Europe.