Publication

This paper addresses the question of whether the EU's political conditionality can continue to be effective in the Balkans and Black Sea region in light of the 2005 French and Dutch rejections of the proposed European Constitution. Creating a taxonomy of different groups into which these regions' states fall, the author poses four strategic questions, notably whether the EU's neighborhood policy could be "upgraded" in light of receding EU accession prospects, and the examination of a role for renewed Black Sea regionalism. He concludes with a five-point list of concerns and policy prescriptions.