CIAO DATE: 07/2012
June 2012
Finnish Institute for International Affairs
The EU has a strategic goal to build political association and economic integration with the six countries included in its Eastern Partnership policy. To reach this goal, it has invented a new model of association agreement that includes deep and comprehensive free trade. At best, three out of six Eastern partners are likely to sign the agreements within the next couple of years. The low level of democracy and the rule of law in the neighbourhood may eventually block the new agreements with most partners or, if the EU loosens the political criteria, undermine the credibility of the Union. The deadlock of the EU–Ukraine agreement because of ‘selective justice’ sets a strong precedent for the other neighbours and tests the leverage of the Eastern Partnership.
Resource link: A rocky road towards Europe: The prospects for the EU's Eastern Partnership Association Agreements [PDF] - 2.2M