Paper Titles & Abstracts

This paper investigates the policy models that the European Union currently has in place for integrating European third countries which would, in principle, be eligible for membership but are either not (yet) able or willing to join. These models can serve as alternatives or 'stepping stones' towards EU membership. Examples are the Eastern Partnership of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the European Economic Area (EEA) and various bilateral relationships (e.g. customs union, association, free trade and other sectoral agreements). In addition, potential new models of internal (e.g. partial membership) and external differentiated integration can be envisaged. However, any far-reaching arrangement with the EU faces the same fundamental trade-off between the economic and political benefits resulting from the adoption of the acquis and the legal-institutional challenges that come with the lack of 'voice' inherent in non-membership: the dynamic adaptation to the evolving acquis, its homogeneous interpretation, an independent surveillance, judicial enforcement and dispute settlement. When launching the ENP, the European Commission proclaimed that all the neighbouring countries should be offered 'a stake in the internal market' and that the long-term goal was to move towards an arrangement resembling the EEA. A Neighbourhood Economic Community could thus emerge around the EU based on the internal market acquis, with shared regulatory frameworks and certain institutional arrangements. However, the countries' ability and willingness to integrate varies, raising the question how differentiation can be reconciled with the requirement of a rather homogeneous pan-European economic community. The paper thus aims to sound out to what extent deep economic integration with the EU is possible without membership and to what extent differentiated integration is likely to help or hinder the accomplishment of a Neighbourhood Economic Community.