Promoting EU Values in the Neighborhood Through EU Financial Instruments and Restrictive Measures

This piece examines how the EU exports and enforce its values in the countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy by using on the one hand, external financial instruments, in particular, the European Nieghbourhood Policy Instrument (ENPI) but also the Decisions on macro economic assistance based on Art. 212 (or 213) Treaty on Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and on the other, and restrictive measures, falling within the scope of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The author examines to what extent the way the EU promotes its values differs from the instrument of pre-accession assistance (IPA), used within the framework of the enlargement policy. The conclusion is that the ENPI of 2014 strengthens the importance of EU values compared to the previous one (dating 2006) but does expect that they comply with EU values as the IPA does from acceding countries. Decisions on macro economic assistance are scrutinised to examine to what extent they are based on political conditionality. Does respect of EU values matter to receive the EU’s financial assistance? A further question is whether the EU has specifically used this form of financial support to the benefit of ENP partners or has also extended its assistance to other third countries (i.e. the “neighbours of neighbours”). The chapter highlights that after 2009 macro-economic assistance decisions have been adopted to support the transition of third countries to democracy. However, they are not reserved for ENP countries, and neither is respect for EU values in reality truly important in taking the decision to assist. Turning to restrictive measures, the analysis is aimed at examining whether there are distinctive features in the measures adopted against the governmental leadership and/or nationals and entities of ENP countries. The term of comparison is restrictive measures adopted against other third countries and/or legal and natural persons in situation in which human rights or democratic rules were breached. The author concludes that there are categories of restrictive measures concerning the ENP countries with distinctive elements. The EU’s judicial assistance to democracies in transition, such as Tunisia and Egypt, in fighting the misappropriation of funds is specific to the ENP. Restrictive measures adopted against the secessionist Ukrainian Republics, in reaction to their breach of the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty, are also unique and worth highlighting. This denotes that the EU is more committed to supporting the establishment of its values in its relations with its neighbours than with other third countries.