Abstract

In this paper I argue that the development of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) can be understood as a form of promoting regional cooperation at the new Eastern border of the European Union (EU) after the successful performance of the Eastern Enlargement in 2004 and 2007, and especially in the Black Sea Region. The ENP is now the primary instrument through which regional cooperation in an important region like the Black Sea is promoted. The EU and its institutions, particularly the Committee of the Regions (CoR), are keen on integrating its Eastern borders in different regional structures with different cooperation topics such as energy, transport, environment, culture, science, security and different cooperation degree. In order to meet these objectives, the EU and the CoR promote differentiation among the ENP-states, include local and regional authorities in the development and implementation of the ENP, and doing so strive to foster closer relations between the local and regional authorities of the EU and the ENP-states and therefore to achieve the main aims of the ENP – security, stability and prosperity. A variety of EU-institutions and actors (most old and new EU member states) are concerned in the policy-making process of the ENP to obtain more policy effectivness. This paper accesses the ENP policy-making process and the role of the CoR in an enlarged Union, and demonstrates the coordination and competition amnog them, such as the political influence of the CoR.

Contents

• Structured Dialogue and the Committee of the Regions
• The European Neighbourhood
• Regional cooperation topics in the ENP and the Black Sea area. New Regional Structures in the region
• Conclusion
• Reference List