“Promotion of good government and socio-economic development in the countries bordering on the terrestrial and maritime frontiers of the European Union”: that’s the fundamental objective of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), inaugurated twelve months ago as one of the first acts of the external policy of the current European Commission and now the object of a preliminary assessment in a Communication adopted by the Executive last week. The partner states of the Community covered by ENP are the following: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldavia, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. The document outlines the progress made “in the youngest external policy of the Union” and spells out the objectives for next year: social market economy, rule of law and democratisation, education, employment, social cohesion, fight against terrorism and ban on weapons of mass destruction. Seven ENP Action Plans have so far been adopted, respectively with Jordan, Israel, Moldavia, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Tunisia and Ukraine. The success of these Plans is such that the international financial organizations have used them since they came into force to determine their aid strategies. The ENP Plans with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia and Lebanon should be signed by 2007. For further information, consult the European Commission/EU in the world website http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations
