Research Papers

'A new response to a changing Neighbourhood' is the title of a joint communication of the Commission and the High Representative that marks the final output of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) review from 2010/11. The subsequent public discourse claimed that this strategic document considerably re-orientates and re-structures the EU approach towards its neighbours in the East and the South. This paper investigates how EU internal adjustments (e.g. the set-up of the European External Action Service, or the upgrading of EU delegations) as well external events (Arab spring) shaped the proclaimed ENP re-orientation during this review process. First, the paper shows that ENP adjustments in terms of strategy and underlying principles follow more general dynamics that have already been observable in other areas of EU foreign policy. These changes therefore neither constitute particular features of the ENP framework nor are they a strong response to the publicly raised criticism after the Arab spring. Secondly, this paper scrutinizes to what extent adjustments in the strategic orientation of the EU towards its neighbours remain largely rhetoric, or if the ENP revision process also resulted in institutional adjustments and changes of the implementation of EU foreign policy-making in third countries. The paper questions if the ENP review allows the EU to become a more coherent and strategic actor towards the East and the South and if the revised ENP strategy therefore constitutes a considerable break with the past.