The European Union and the Eastern Partnership: Convergence of Economies

AbstractThis paper deals with the European Union programme Eastern Neighbourhood Partnership devoted to the eastern neighbouring states. The two main goals of the paper are: 1) to assess by means of statistical and comparison approach the development and the economic sustainability of six targeted states (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) in the period before the programme launched and after, and 2) to identify the possible reasons why the programme for the targeted states did not lift them to the EU level. The research has been conducted using the methods of empirical (regression) analysis, theoretical explanations, descriptive analysis, and Granger causality test. The six states under consideration had very diverse economic and reform pasts despite all having emerged from the post-soviet period. However the programme approach indicated is rather unified, that seems not rational and can explain the slow movement of reforms in the region and not rapid and un-effective changes towards the EU standards