Ahead of the adoption of her opinion on the Review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) by the CoR October plenary session, we spoke to PES member Anne Quart, State Secretary for Europe and Consumer Protection in the Ministry of Justice, European Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Land of Brandenburg (Germany).
You will be presenting the draft version of a CoR opinion on European neighbourhood policy at the end of October. What is the opinion about?
The EU's neighbourhood policy (ENP) needs a new direction. The purpose of the ENP is to support the political, economic and social reform processes in the countries of the EU's neighbourhood. Our neighbours currently face important challenges, and not just in relation to absorbing refugees. The EU should not turn its back on social and political tensions, but respond pro-actively. We need the right instruments to do this. In the past, the ENP was framed in a very centralised way by a selected few, but we must get away from this model.
How exactly do you want to achieve this?
We must increase the visibility of the ENP, focus more on civil society activities at local and regional level, and ensure that there is sufficient funding for this instrument. That means fewer conferences and more specific projects at local level that produce tangible results and have positive effects on the daily lives of ordinary people in the neighbourhood countries. We should draw much more on the experiences of cities and regions, which together with civil society can give important pointers and share knowledge about how social and economic cohesion, and democratic systems and the rule of law, can be promoted at local and regional level. Cities and regions have long been places where pragmatic policy-making and an engaged citizenry combine to find innovative solutions. The achievements in this area are remarkable, particularly in relation to migration.
So where should the resources that have been called for be channelled?
Money should be spent on cross-border cooperation, partnerships between cities and regions, and scientific, cultural and youth exchanges. This is the only way that relations will really develop across borders, laying the foundation for more intensive cooperation in the future.
It is also important for the EU to strengthen young people's engagement and the involvement of women as key factors in the development of the neighbourhood countries, using targeted economic projects to show young people that there are prospects for the future.
What else is needed to help the ENP succeed?
Finally, the Commission must also have a strategy for the so-called neighbours' neighbours, which includes relations with the Russian Federation. The objective of European Neighbourhood Policy, which is to bring stability to the EU's neighbourhood, can only be achieved on a permanent basis within this general framework.
