The European economic area: A model for the EU's neighbourhood policy?¹

Looking beyond the enlargement process, the European Union is developing a new policy framework for neighbouring countries that are either currently excluded from, or ineligible for; a perspective on accession. This policy debate focused initially on the new neighbours to the east, that is, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. It was subsequently extended to include Russia, with whom the EU has shared a border since 1995, and also to the countries of the southern Mediterranean. These countries present a common set of policy challenges to the Union, and instability in this area due to poor governance or economic failure will have direct consequences for the security of the EU itself. The centrepiece of the EU's strategy is an offer to neighbours, in return for concrete progress with economic and political reform, and alignment to EU rules, of a stake in the EU's Internal Market. According to the European Commission, this could result in an arrangement for the EU's neighbours similar to the existing European Economic Area (EEA). The paper tests the credibility of this vision by identifying some key characteristics of the existing EEA, and then considering them with reference to the EU's neighbouring countries.