The May 2004 accession of ten central and eastern European countries pushed the EU's borders towards the east while the recent inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania moved the border up to the Black Sea. The EU is now sharing its borders with countries which, because of their geography and relatively prosperous resources, have become key strategic partners. However, some still face security and other challenges and the EU cannot afford to be indifferent to the arc of instability that runs from Belarus to North Africa, passing through Ukraine, Moldova, the western Balkans, the Caucasus and the Middle East.

After the European Neighbourhood Policy's first stage of implementation, a consensus was reached amongst European leaders that the policy needed to be upgraded. The current ENP offers every neighbour country the chance to choose its own path: those who want to advance relations through the ENP are already seeing their commitment matched with new opportunities. The policy is actually based on the principle of strengthening collaboration through the gradual adoption of European norms and rules, and on the promotion of political stability and economic welfare in the region, thus indirectly improving security across Europe.

This goes to the heart of the debate over the credibility of the ENP which will largely depend on whether the EU succeeds in moving from theory to practice with concrete measures which would more clearly outline its role in the Neighbourhood and among its citizens.

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