Policy-making and the New Modes of Governance in the European Neighborhood Policy. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol 8, No. 8, May 2008

Since 2002, the EU has been developing the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to cope with the challenges eventually resulting from the new post-enlargement political order in Europe. The EU is keen on maintaining its borders safe and secure from trans-national risks such as illegal migration, environmental degradation and economic crisis. In order to meet these objectives, the EU promotes democratic and economic reforms in the countries located along its Eastern and Southern borders to foster political stability and security. It does so by including third state actors into a process of governance entailing various modes such as coordination, competition, negotiation and compliance. Towards the backdrop of an analysis of ENP policy-making, the paper demonstrates that the governance approach is well-equipped to grasp the internal dynamic of the European Neighbourhood Policy and identifies coordination and competition as the dominant –a albeit not exclusive – modes of governance