European Neighbourhood Research Articles

The phenomenon of migration and the national security of the Republic of Moldova

The article analyzes the links between migration and security, the tasks that ensure the effective functioning of the national security system, witch include: sovereignty – ensuring the constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual; maintaining territorial integrity and the ability to defend border areas; identifying forecasting and taking measures to combat crime ensuring a comfortable and safe life for the citizens of the state; development and implementation of anti-terrorism programs; international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational crime, as well as control over the export/import of goods, control of weapons of mass destruction; implementing measures to combat illegal migration; implementing measures for the efficient and rational use and reproduction of natural resources; promoting the development and implementation of safe production technologies; ensuring information security. Both the European neighborhood policy and the framework of the Eastern Partnership include a wide range of areas of cooperation, incluiding in security and migration issues, as well as through the developed projekts. Connecting the national security agenda from the new conceptual perspectives on migration is a strategic opportunity for the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova, but also an imperative for internal social-economic policy.

European integration and political party logos: A ‘visual Europeanization’?

European integration scholars have paid little attention to the visual dimension of Europeanization. We fill this gap by analysing how European Union integration reshapes political parties’ most visible symbols: their logos. We examine 579 party logos in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe before and after countries became European Union members, obtained the status of candidates or joined the European neighbourhood policy. Our difference-in-differences models show that European Union integration corresponds to a decrease in extremist and nationalist symbols as well as national flag colours. This ‘visual Europeanization’ process, prompted by population ecology and rebranding, cannot be solely explained by democratization or economic growth. Our analysis considers potential mechanisms that explain this correlation, including Europarty membership and normative diffusion, and discusses implications for the Europeanization literature.

Lithuanian-Polish security cooperation in European Union (EU) Defence Programs

This article is part of a broad discussion concerning the deteriorating security environment in the European neighbourhood and the initiatives the European Union (EU) and its Member States (MS) took to intensify security and defence cooperation. The war in Ukraine put pressure on the entire regional security structure. Hence increased investments and more collaboration are necessary to jointly develop and use the military capabilities that the EU and Baltic region need. In this context, it is interesting how Lithuania and Poland – both Eastern EU members with grave concerns and engagement in regional security – perceive and utilize the potential that EU programs offer. This article will look deeper into the level of cooperation between Lithuania and Poland before the intensification of military operations in Ukraine in February 2022. Furthermore, the paper presents an overview of the regional cooperation concept, Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), and its funds, agencies, and instruments. The key elements of this study are the analysis of both countries’ involvement in the European Defence Fund (EDF) preparatory programs implemented since 2017.

The Eastern Neighbours and EU Security Policy: A Differentiated Integration Perspective

The EU’s decision to grant Ukraine and Moldova a candidate country status and the recognition of Georgia’s European perspective in June 2022 has significant effects for both the EU’s enlargement and security and defence policies. So far, ‘hard’ security issues have played little role in the framing of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the Association Agreements (AAs) with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Their full integration into EU security and defence arrangements will thus require considerable strategy-making and implementation efforts. This article discusses the extent to which existing external Differentiated Integration (DI) constellations can be seen as ‘building blocks’ for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia’s prospective full integration into the EU’s security and defence architecture. It is shown that, in legal and practical terms, such DI constellations are conducive to the deepening of these countries’ integration with the EU in the security and defence domain. From the political viewpoint, the focus on DI with the new accession countries may, however, be (mis)used as a substitute for fullscale integration into the EU security and defence architecture. We, nonetheless, suggest several pilot domains that can be used to test the limits of new accession countries’ DI with the Union. EU security and defence policy, EU enlargement policy, accession, European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), Russia’s war against Ukraine, European Defence Agency, European Defence Fund, Permanent Structured Cooperation

Balancing between Russia and the West: the hard security choice of Armenia

ABSTRACT Armenia’s official foreign policy of complementarism aims to sustain national security and development by balancing strategic and friendly relations with Russia, while also engaging in multilevel political, economic and cultural interactions with the EU and the USA. However, after the 2020 Karabakh War and amidst the increasing confrontation between the West and Russia, complementarism faced unprecedented challenges. To investigate whether Armenian elites still adhere to the line of complementarism and to determine whether they reflect or contradict public perceptions of foreign policy, we gathered novel sociological data on foreign policy preferences in Armenian society through a nationwide survey, outlining changes and continuities in their perceptions over the past ten years. Our study reveals that Armenian elites have started to modify complementarism as they began to doubt Russia’s role in Armenian foreign policy, particularly in the context of the European neighbourhood. Armenian society’s trust in Russia has consistently declined, despite Moscow still being ranked as the main strategic ally in public perceptions. The misbalancing of complementarism by Armenian elites not only challenges Russia’s role in Armenian security and public opinion but also offers no viable alternative for the security of Armenia and the Armenian population in Karabakh.

Participation of Morocco and Tunisia in the European Research Area: Research-intense Collaborative Patterns Across the European Southern Neighbourhood

The purpose of the study is to explore the research-intense collaborative patterns that weave the EU Southern Neighbourhood into the European Research Area through EU-funded projects. The task of this article is to test the straw-in-the-wind hypothesis which, as the results demonstrate, rightly argues that the EU Framework Programmes do not encourage very restrictive engagement in projects among Morocco- and Tunisia-based entities. The study design entails explaining-outcome process-tracing performed with data-set observations of the collaborative patterns engaging Morocco and Tunisia. Despite taking part in projects coordinated primarily by managers from the European Mediterranean littoral countries, many European centres of expertise located elsewhere included Morocco and Tunisia in their consortiums. As a result, both countries are exposed to very rich European scientific expertise, including diverse subfields, habitus and capital transactions of the European Research Area facilitated by various project management styles. The Moroccan National Institute for Agricultural Research and the Tunisian Pasteur Institute stand out because, when comparing Framework Programme 7 and Horizon 2020 project portfolios, both sustain increasing engagement. Research cooperation addresses the pressing challenges of the neighbourhood, especially in environmental and agricultural domains and the capacity to engage in international collaboration. The article commences filling the gap in the literature on the EU Southern Neighbourhood.

The External Incentives Model Embedded: Evidence From the European Union's Eastern Neighbourhood

AbstractThe external incentives model (EIM) proved highly compelling in explaining Europeanization and rule adoption in countries from Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. Building on the EIM, the present article seeks to contribute along three key objectives. First, it proposes to re‐evaluate the EIM for the Eastern European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Second, the paper introduces a conceptual distinction between domestic transformation costs and regulatory costs. Third, it integrates and evaluates the EIM in a broader framework, incorporating domestic and alternative international conditions. The paper combines theory‐guided case comparisons and panel data analysis, based on a dataset with evidence collected from the Eastern ENP countries. The study corroborates the EIM and finds that higher domestic transformation costs lead to lower levels of democratic development and a positive cost–benefit balance of transformation, on the other hand, tends to encourage democratic consolidation in the Eastern ENP region.

Newcomers in EU foreign policy: the Committee of the Regions as an EU para-diplomatic actor

ABSTRACT Has the Committee of the Regions (CoR) any role in the EU’s foreign policy? We conceptualize the CoR as an EU para-diplomatic actor, and we explore the evolving and multi-faceted role of the CoR in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) by employing a two-fold approach: first, from an institutional perspective, we examine the role, capacity, and limits of the CoR’s engagement. Second, from a functional dimension, we investigate the added value of the CoR’s initiatives in the ENP and the EU foreign policy more generally. We show that the CoR has managed to expand its room for manoeuvre acting ‘below the radar’ by establishing communication channels and promoting subtle ways of mediation, especially in conflicts of high intensity whereby the EU and national authorities fail to deliver. Our findings contribute to the more comprehensive understanding of both the EU foreign policy and the CoR’s positioning in the EU institutional architecture.

Regional Transformation as Reterritorialisation: Examining the Distorted Image of EU-ropeanisation

The European Union’s (EU) mission to promote its idea of European-ness across the continent led to its eastern enlargements and later the Eastern Partnership of the European Neighbourhood Policy. Along the way, this mission encountered competing norms and regional integration efforts shaped by sociocultural and historical ties connecting state, society and territory. These ties inform the barriers to Europeanisation and the backsliding from EU-managed policy reforms. They can illuminate where the EU’s self-image and constructed European identity do not reflect perspectives abroad or those of EU member countries. Such inconsistencies in the EU-constructed identity that shaped related policy mechanisms prevented sustainable regional transformation and integration. Further policy integration and future EU enlargement remain strong possibilities, as does the risk of basing the next generation of policy mechanisms on a distorted image of the EU and its capacity to transform. In this article, I apply a novel critical theory perspective on the entwined processes of de- and reterritorialisation to this context, and argue that this perspective clarifies and informs the EU’s aim to transform and unite Europe.

The Narrative Identity of European Cities in Contemporary Literature

This volume aimed to highlight narrative identities of European cities or city neighbourhoods that have been overlooked, such as mid-sized cities. These cities are neither small towns nor metropolises, cities that are now unveiling their appeal or specificity. The present special issue thus covers a range of representations of cities. The articles investigate more systematically how different texts deal with various cities from different experiential and fictional perspectives. The issue covers the geographical scope across Europe, from east to west or vice versa, as well as a range of different works of national literature(s), but with a clear emphasis on mid-sized European cities that have until now been deemed as lesser-known, secondary, peripheral, ‘other’ cities that are in the focus of the research of the COST project Writing Urban Places. New Narratives of the European City, within which this journal issue is being published.

Mind the gap! Organized hypocrisy in EU cooperation with Southern neighbor countries on international protection

Abstract The European Union (EU) has reacted to the migration crises of the last decade with growing externalization of migration management to neighbor countries often accused of not respecting human rights and individual liberties. Focusing on EU cooperation with the Southern neighborhood, as defined within the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) framework, this paper investigates the recent developments in the EU's external migration policies, demonstrating that there is a gap between EU discourses and policy instruments identified by the EU as strategic tools of the European migration and asylum policy (MAP). Five Southern neighbor countries (SNCs) have been selected, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, to assess the extent to which the EU, when cooperating on migration and asylum issues, places international protection at risk instead of playing the role of humanitarian actor in accordance with the ideals and principles it defends. The research critically analyzes the EU's cooperation with SNCs concerning migration, as developed via international agreements, action plans, and mobility partnerships under the umbrella of the ENP. In particular, it explores the incompatibility between the European MAP instruments and international protection. MAP, the qualitative analysis shows, represents a clear mismatch between EU talk and action, outlining another case of organized hypocrisy.

Dealing with Migration at an Institutional Level: The Collective Securitization Actions of the European Union

Abstract Migration has been placed high on the agenda by the EU as being securitized related to policy changes as well as border security. Growing numbers of irregular migrants have paved the way for a systematic coordination and a consequent regional response in the region; therefore, dedicated security-based policies have been revised. This research analyzes the response that the EU put in action to the irregular migration due to the Arab Uprisings within the scope of collective securitization, and answers the question of why the EU has needed to respond to the demographic changes in the neighborhood as a supra-national securitizing actor. The empirical part of the research will be limited to the policy changes in the European Neighborhood Policy and the Schengen Agreement within the framework of institutional response between 2011 and 2015.

Three decades of relations between the European Union and Moldova – from cooperation to the membership perspective

The research objective of the article is to analyze the evolution of bilateral relations between the European Union and Moldova from the 1990s to the present, with a particular focus on the participation of the Republic of Moldova in the European Neighborhood Policy and Eastern Partnership, as well as the signing and implementation of the Association Agreement. Contemporary challenges and threats (including Russian aggression against Ukraine) have had a significant impact on the security of the EU, as well as the development of relations between the EU and neighboring countries. In particular, the prospect of membership in the EU structures was opened up to Moldova (and Ukraine). In the paper, the author poses a research hypothesis that despite the fact that Moldova has been granted the status of an EU candidate country, the republic still has a significant internal problem, the lack of solution to which may largely postpone the commencement of accession negotiations or even hinder EU-Moldova cooperation.

Managing networks: Cohesion and fluidity in EU climate cooperation with European neighbours

The European Union (EU) is increasingly relying on regional policy networks to govern climate change outside its borders, both in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Although the functioning of such policy networks has consequences for climate policy in participating countries, little is known about the role of such networks. This article focuses on the example of climate cooperation with the European Neighbourhood Policy region, conceptualizing the EU as a network manager. Using a novel dataset on climate networks in the European Neighbourhood Policy region for the period 2013–2017, we show that the EU uses climate networks for multiple purposes. The results suggest that the EU uses climate networks not only to mitigate the risks associated with climate change, but also to manage varying contexts in the region.

The EU and the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: The Forty-Four-Day War and Its Aftermath

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has long troubled the European Union’s (EU’s) neighbourhood. As a latecomer to the region, the EU played no role in the conflict in the 1990s. The subsequent establishment of bilateral relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan, including a closer engagement through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) did not herald any significant changes in this respect. The bilateral relations with both countries advanced despite the military build-up, hostile rhetoric and periodic fighting. When another war erupted in September 2020, the EU was strikingly absent from the international scene in stark contrast to its rhetoric and pledges of the last two decades. Meanwhile, the Russian-brokered ceasefire did not resolve the conflict and led to further aggression demanding a more hands-on approach by the EU. In a welcome development, the EU undertook various efforts to engage the parties in a continuous dialogue for resolving the outstanding issues. In this context, the article argues for a more enhanced role of the EU in resolving this conflict based on a principled position in line with EU values and respect for international law. Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia, Azerbaijan, EU, European Neighbourhood Policy, OSCE Minsk Group

Eventually detached, eventually belonging. A residential narratives' based institutionalist perspective on urban regeneration and the middle classes in Milan and Marseille

Notwithstanding major evolutions in both class identity and broader structural processes, generically defined “middle classes” are still a target for both investors seeking effective remuneration strategies and urban governments striving to achieve urban competitiveness as well as increased “social cohesion” and “order” in cities. However, despite this enduring centrality, scholars have yet to truly develop a critical discussion around the transformations involving middle classes' subjectivities within urban regeneration discourses and strategies and how they are shaped/adjusted/filtered through the specific forms that their design and implementation assume within particular contexts. We argue that a better grasp of these subjectivities can be critical for a deeper understanding of these strategies, their rationales, tools, outcomes, and shortcomings. The paper intends to fill this gap by investigating such subjectivities through the collection and discussion of “residential narratives”, by which we mean the collection of discourses and representations set forth by households and analyzed about a series of relevant dimensions: expectations, boundaries, and belonging. The narratives were collected in two European urban neighborhoods - one in Milan (Italy) and one in Marseille (France) - involved in variably governed urban regeneration processes centered on shaping and mobilizing middle-class subjectivities. Based on the presented results, the paper argues for a bottom-up institutionalist perspective on how we study urban regeneration discourses and strategies as class-making governing processes. • The mobilization of the middle classes in urban regeneration strategies depends on the cities' broader regulative contexts • Discourses, governance arrangements, and housing provision systems are key factors in the making of urban regeneration strategies • “Residential narratives” is key for understanding the way in which such strategies filter, shape and reshape middle-class identities

«Eastern Partnership» project: current problems and development prospects

The issues of developing the Eastern Partnership, created on the initiative of the European Union to develop integration ties with the countries of the post-Soviet space, were considered. The article analyzes the eastern dimension of European Neighborhood Policy – the Eastern Partnership (SC) based on official government documents and expert assessments. The CCS mainly refers to socio-economic cooperation. The initiative will involve EU member states and six Eastern European partner countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership is aimed at the conclusion of association agreements by the countries of the post-Soviet space with the EU. The cooperation program included the states of Eastern Europe and Transcaucasia. Cooperation within the framework of the Eastern Partnership is aimed at such priority areas as economic development, strengthening of management institutions; development of contacts in the energy sector, expansion of contacts between people. In relations with partner countries, the EU looks at each individual country from the perspective of a differentiated approach policy. The main tasks of the SC are the rapprochement and deepening of cooperation between the states of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus with the European Union, the creation of conditions for the further promotion of political community and economic integration both between the EU and the SC States and between the Rs States. The article analyzes the current stage of development of the» Eastern Partnership « and the main results of the participation of these states in the program.

Influence of West on Post-Soviet Space: Progressive Movement to Change Cultural Code

The European Union is one of the external players in the post-Soviet space, considering the region from the point of view of a rich resource base and a new affordable market. Having taken shape as a subject of international relations in 1992, the EU began to spread its influence in the countries of the post-Soviet space. The article examines the evolution of the approaches of the European Union to independent republics. Initially, the post-Soviet space was perceived by the leaders of the European Union as one whole, and the mechanisms and instruments of influence were universal for all countries of the region (Partnership and Cooperation Agreements; TACIS technical assistance program). Due to the failure of a unified approach, the EU has begun to develop programs and strategies based on the specifics of individual regions of the post-Soviet space: Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia. As a result of the targeted impact on states, taking into account regional peculiarities and challenges, the European Union has managed to achieve some success. The obvious victory of the European neighborhood policy was the emergence of an “associated trio” with the participation of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, who made their “European choice”. The countries of the South Caucasus and Central Asia are not interested in adapting to European values and standards, but they have a positive attitude to the investment investments of the European Union in the regions and are open to expanding trade and economic ties, which indicates the partial participation of the EU in the processes of the post-Soviet space.

“Relocated Russians” In Perceptions of Armenian Youth

Since February 2022, many citizens of Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus have fled their countries to escape the risks of being involved in intensive military clashes in Ukraine. As a result, tens of thousands of Russians, as well as Ukrainians and Belorussians moved to Armenia, considering it a temporary endpoint and a transit country, preferring Armenia because of its visa-free and easy immigration regulations, flexible banking system, Russian language practiced after native Armenian, as well as possibility to further move to the European neighborhood, Georgia, Turkey, and other destinations. In this study, we tried to reveal the public image of those relocated to Armenia, their integration modes, and possible changes in economic and social life in Armenia caused by Russian-speaking newcomers, as perceived by Armenian youth. We applied focus-group discussions with representatives of the Armenian youth in addition to the involved observations. In October-November 2022, we conducted 24 focus-group discussions with young locals in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, and the other ten regions proportionally. Speaking about those who moved to Armenia from Russia, Ukraine, and Belorussia, most young Armenians preferred to call them Russians partly because of a stereotypical image of them as «representatives of one nation» (this stereotype has been actively disseminated in the Western societies while depicting all Soviets too), and partly using their own experience of communicating with newcomers, among which Russian citizens make up the statistical majority. The self-name of the relocated as Relocants did not take root among Armenian youth, while identifying newcomers as IT specialists, is quite popular because of young age and their working for international (including IT) companies. The study reveals the main social, economic, cultural, and communicative changes which occurred with the relocated Russians as seen by Armenian youth.

EUROPEAN UNION-UKRAINE RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY

As a result of the enlargement policy of the European Union, the European Neighbourhood Policy was established in order to secure the borders and entered into force in 2004. However, changes were made in the European Neighbourhood Policy due to the failure to achieve the expected results over time. In this context, the policy was divided into two parts, known as the Union for the Mediterranean (2008) and the Eastern Partnership (2009). Thus, a step was taken toward regionalizing the European Neighbourhood Policy to make it more effective. The aim of this study is to analyze the function of the European Neighbourhood Policy, one of the foreign policy instruments of the European Union, within the framework of European Union-Ukraine relations. In this context, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership are primarily discussed, then the European Union-Ukraine relations are analyzed. The study concludes that the European Neighbourhood Policy’s contribution to relations between European Union and Ukraine is insufficient and the policy should be revised urgently to increase this contribution over time.