The EU and its Eastern Partners: the role of the ‘Russia factor’ – Thoughts related to the Vilnius summit and the Ukrainian ‘NO’

Slow progress within the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) program and disappointment of all affected partners can be explained by both problems arising on the EU and the Eastern Partners’ side. Besides recent economic difficulties, diverging member state interests and approaches including the ‘South versus East’ problem, shared competencies between EU institutions, uncertainties of conditionality, problems on EU side include some major deficiencies like the lack of incentive of EU membership or the slow progress in the visa-free movement of people,  the  second major issue for most EaPs. All in all the ‘carrot’ offered by the EU is a small one compared to the appetite of the targeted countries. At the same time Eastern Partners can also be blamed since most of them delay in ‘doing their homework’, in transforming their political, juridical or economic systems. [...] Bővebben!