Neighbourhood Europeanization through ENP: The Case of Ukraine

Andrea Gawrich, Inna Melnykovska, Rainer Schweickert - August 2009              Download

 

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature of European Studies by introducing the approach of Neighbourhood Europeanization. Based on insights from Membership and Enlargement Europeanization, the authors reveal inconsistencies of Neighbourhood Europeanization through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as well as a lack of robust empirical support for its effectiveness. Gawrich/Melnykovska/Schweickert define core dimensions and determinants of Neighbourhood Europeanization and implement this analytical framework for the case of Ukraine. The analysis clearly demonstrates substantial asymmetries in the ENP for Ukraine across three dimensions – democracy promotion, economic cooperation, and Justice and Home Affairs, which clearly reflect the inconsistency of the ENP concept, that is top-down formulation of EU interests combined with weak conditionality. However, the analysis shows that despite Ukraine’s growing frustration because of the lack of a membership perspective, there is a lot of room for keeping up Ukraine’s motivation for Europeanization reforms.  Especially, widening and strengthening the linkage-mechanisms would allow to overcome ENP inconsistency and to improve the effectiveness of Neighborhood Europeanization.