Brussels, 26/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 25 July, Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle called for the swift finalisation of the negotiations on the European neighbourhood instrument for 2014-2020.
Stressing that the negotiations on the financial instrument are nearing their conclusion, Füle said that it is “important that both the European Parliament and the member states finalise negotiations swiftly so that there is no interruption in our financial assistance to partners in 2014”. In his speech on the European neighbourhood policy (ENP) that he gave to the annual conference of Polish ambassadors, Füle recalled “the importance of ensuring sufficient flexibility in the implementation of our financial instrument” so that the EU can react to “unpredictable developments” in the region. The amount planned for the 2014-2020 European neighbourhood instrument is €13.7 billion.
Füle stated that the application of the “comprehensive approach”, using all instruments and policies at the disposal of the EU in a coherent way under the umbrella of the ENP, “remains a challenge”. “If the European Union and its member states consistently use all the tools they have at their disposal - diplomatic, trade, development assistance, and also security tools - then the European Union can be an even more effective actor in our neighbourhood and can have a greater impact addressing the unsolved conflicts”, he concluded. (CG/transl.fl)