EUROPEAN UNION-UKRAINE RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY

Abstract

As a result of the enlargement policy of the European Union, the European Neighbourhood Policy was established in order to secure the borders and entered into force in 2004. However, changes were made in the European Neighbourhood Policy due to the failure to achieve the expected results over time. In this context, the policy was divided into two parts, known as the Union for the Mediterranean (2008) and the Eastern Partnership (2009). Thus, a step was taken toward regionalizing the European Neighbourhood Policy to make it more effective. The aim of this study is to analyze the function of the European Neighbourhood Policy, one of the foreign policy instruments of the European Union, within the framework of European Union-Ukraine relations. In this context, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership are primarily discussed, then the European Union-Ukraine relations are analyzed. The study concludes that the European Neighbourhood Policy’s contribution to relations between European Union and Ukraine is insufficient and the policy should be revised urgently to increase this contribution over time.