In 2004, the European Commission adopted its ‘European Neighbourhood Policy’ (ENP) to guide relations with the states on its periphery, including its ten ‘Southern Partners’ (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria (suspended in 2011), and Tunisia). The ENP promoted the Southern Partners as a ‘ring of friends’, each of which would develop bilateral relations with the EU under the common ENP framework. The ENP and the bilateral Euromed Association Agreements (EMAAs) emphasise the linkage of democracy, human rights, rule of law, trade, economic development, and security relations. Historical European interference in the region, however, in particular the colonial rule of several European countries, has left an enduring taint of hypocrisy and double standards. As of today, none of the ten states, with the arguable and qualified exception of Israel, has developed a representative democracy. Respect for human rights and the rule of law remains a challenge in the region. At the same time, the EU frequently prioritises its ‘hard interests’ in trade and security over its ‘soft values’ of promoting human rights. It is recommended that the EU adhere to its official policies rather than employ mere human rights rhetoric, and to require its Southern Partners to effectively implement their EMAAs (presumably through the ‘essential-elements clauses’). The EU is capable of using its vast and disproportionate economic influence to implement its ‘more for more’ policy: the more the Southern Partners comply with the EMAAs, the better will be economic relations with the EU.
Energy and renewable energy use in EU28 and Hungary on the basis of statistics