THE NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) objective is to share the benefits of the EU's 2004 enlargement with neighbouring countries in strengthening stability, security and well-being for all concerned. It is designed to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and its neighbours and to offer them the chance to participate in various EU activities, through greater political, security, economic and cultural co-operation. ENP will also help address one of the strategic objectives the European Union set in the European Security Strategy in December 2003, that of building security in the neighbourhood. The ENP is distinct from the issue of potential membership. It offers a privileged relationship with neighbours, which will build on mutual commitment to common values principally within the fields of the rule of law, good governance, the respect for human rights, including minority rights, the promotion of good neighbourly relations, and the principles of market economy and sustainable development. The level of ambition of the EU's relationships with its neighbours will take into account the extent to which these values are effectively shared. The aim of this article is to analyze the main characters and the content of this new strategic option which implies the ENP. On this basis of its origins and the grounds which draw the European Commission to propose the creation of this new policy, this paper focusses its attention on the different elements which shape the ENP and the legal instruments designed to make it real.