Brussels, 04/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - "The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is starting to bear fruit" by bringing "positive benefits" to the partner countries, "but experience shows that there is scope for increasing the positive impact of this policy. I think we can do more", Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner (External Relations) said on Monday, whilst presenting the press with the new communication of the Commission on reinforcing the European neighbourhood policy (see EUROPE 9319). The EU must "improve its offer" to the 16 beneficiary countries (Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria), particularly in the economic and commercial field, Ms Ferrero-Waldner explained. The beneficiary countries of the ENP will go forward at different speeds in the implementation of their action plans, but in the longer term, the Commission hopes to achieve a "broad economic neighbourhood community".
The Commissioner laid a great deal of emphasis on the importance of ensuring "equal treatment" for the countries of the South and the East, whilst guaranteeing differentiation. "Both must enjoy equal chances" of benefiting from the ENP to promote their development, and the Commission will make sure that both sides will be well served by it, she said. It is absolutely vital to operate differentiation between the beneficiary countries of the ENP, which are "all different", but this differentiation should lie within the ENP itself, which must remain "global" and cover all the neighbour countries of the EU, to the South and East alike, stressed Ms Ferrero-Waldner. "Nobody, in the South or in the East, should be afraid" of being discriminated against compared to any others within the framework of the ENP. Both regions are "our partners and our direct neighbours", and both are "close to my heart", she said.
When asked about the accession prospects for the countries of the ENP, particularly Ukraine, the Commissioner said that the ENP "cannot prejudge the future" and that Ukraine must use the resources available to it to move forward in its reforms and become closer to the EU. Ms Ferrero-Waldner also ruled out the possibility of extending the ENP to the countries of Central Asia, but announced a specific Commission communication for these countries, to be published in 2007.
Here are the principal measures put forward by the Commission to reinforce the ENP:
Funding. For the period 2007-2013, the budget allocated for the ENP partners stands at 12 billion EUR, which is an increase of 32%, in real terms, on the corresponding period of the previous budget.
The exact way in which the funds will be divided between 16 beneficiary countries is not yet known, but Ms Ferrero-Waldner announced that the envelopes for the countries of the South and East will be "broadly comparable", to wit an average of 3.36 EUR per head in the countries of the South and 3.64 EUR per head in the countries of the East. "12 billion EUR over seven years is not bad, but it is modest given our ambitions to support reform in the neighbourhood", said Ms Ferrero-Waldner. In order to optimise the impact and leverage of this budget, the Commission proposes to reserve one billion EUR out of the 12 to create two special funds: a neighbourhood investment fund, with a budget of 700 million EUR, to support and mobilise loans from international financial institutions in the partner countries of the ENP. The Member States of the EU are invited to contribute to this fund, which will provide a proportion of the subsidies for operations carried out by institutions such as the EIB, EBRD and others. "It is thought that this kind of fund could mobilise subsidised loans to a value equivalent to four or five times the amount of grant money in it", said the Commissioner; -a new "governance" facility", with a budget of 300 million EUR (or around 43 million a year on average), which aims to reward and support the ENP countries which have made the most progress in the implementation of the reform programme agreed with the EU in their action plan.
Free-trade agreements. The Commission is proposing to offer all of the ENP partners, South and East alike, the prospect of increased economic and commercial integration into the EU, going beyond just free trade in goods and services, tackling the issue of non-tariff barriers, in order to achieve total convergence on a regulatory level. "The countries of Southern Europe are already working on free-trade agreements with the Union. We now want free-trade agreements with all of our neighbour countries", including the countries of Eastern Europe, Ms Ferrero-Waldner explained to the press. The EU's commercial offer to the ENP countries "will include the products which are the most important to these countries"- a concession made by the EU, but which will be compensated for by the "political benefits" of this policy, Ms Ferrero-Waldner stressed. The first country of the East to benefit by this offer is Ukraine, with whom negotiations on a free-trade agreement will be able to start once the country has joined the WTO, the Commission explained.
Facilitation of visa-issuing procedures. In order to allow all the citizens to benefit more directly from the advantages of the ENP, the Commission suggests looking into ways in which visa-issuing procedures could be "substantially improved" in order to facilitate travel, for certain categories at least, such as students, researchers, business people, NGO representatives, journalists and civil servants. This visa facilitation will, however, go hand-in-hand with reinforced cooperation in the field of illegal immigration and border management, the Commissioner announced. A better exchange system between students, those involved in civil society and governments will also help to give the ENP a "human face", she stressed.
Thematic cooperation. The Commission proposes to institute ad hoc or regular meetings with its ENP partners at ministerial and expert level on subjects such as energy, transport, the environment and public health. This multilateral approach will be a useful addition to the bilateral work on which the ENP is based. "We must create this thematic dimension", Ms Ferrero-Waldner explained, going on to suggest also that certain programmes and Community agencies be opened up to the ENP beneficiary countries, such as the European Environment Agency, the European Space Agency and the framework programme of research.
More systematic political dialogue. The Commission hopes to reinforce political cooperation and get the ENP countries more involved in the EU's external policy declarations and in the common positions within international bodies.
Reinforcing the regional approach in the East. The Commission proposes to consolidate the regional approach in the East, based on existing cooperation in the Black Sea region. The ENP is a bilateral policy which, to the South of the EU, is already accompanied by a regional approach via the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The countries of Eastern Europe will also benefit from an approach based on reinforced regional cooperation, "but we cannot simply copy the Barcelona process" for these countries, Ms Ferrero-Waldner explained. This is why the Commission is proposing to reinforce cooperation in the Black Sea region, in order to promote dialogue between the EU and the countries concerned by all subjects and issues which come under the ENP. The Commission suggests that regular ministerial meetings be held with the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organisation, which also includes Russia and Turkey. The Commission will look into this issue in greater detail in a communication in 2007, Ms Ferrero-Waldner announced.
Frozen conflicts. The Union must play a more active role in conflict resolution efforts in the region, particularly by offering the EU's timely participation in civil and military peacekeeping missions, the Commission stated. (hb)