THE IMPACT OF EU'S ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION IN ITS PERIPHERY

The European Union's desiderate of fully decarbonization until 2050 led to the adaptation of a comprehensive regulation that set ambitious environmental targets. EU's vision regarding the energy transition is very well expressed through its programs and policies. Currently, European Green Deal and NextGenerationEU mechanism are ambitious strategies that can make the EU's desires for a sustainable future reality. The first strategy intends to transform the European Union into a modern, green, and competitive economy and to decouple from fossil fuels. The second case refers to the recovery plan that follows to restore the EU's economy affected by the Covid pandemic. This plan, recently adopted, among his directions, had proposed reforms that make possible the green transition. How do these efforts affect the EU's neighbourhood in their climate action? Is there substantial evidence that shows the European Union's influence in shaping the environmental regulation of EU's neighbours?This article aims to answer these questions using a comparative analysis that includes two EU neighbours, Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. This analysis follows to measure the influence of the EU's environmental efforts among its neighbours and explore those factors that favor this process. The results of the comparative analysis will be interpreted using the theoretical framework from the Europeanization literature.