Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The European Neighbourhood Policy and Conflict Management: A Comparison of Moldova and the Caucasus

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 8; Issue: 3-4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17449050903086971

1744-9065

Gwendolyn Sasse,

European and International Law Studies

Abstract Conflict management is an area in which the EU has only recently begun to develop a profile, in particular through its involvement in the Western Balkans. The development of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has added a momentum to the management or resolution of the unresolved conflicts in the Former Soviet Union. This is a potentially risky undertaking. The ENP was not designed to address these conflicts; it remains politically, institutionally and financially under-equipped to do so, and it faces obvious external constraints, such as the role of Russia in the region. Through the ENP, the EU has assumed greater visibility in conflict management. By giving rise to local and international expectations, the EU runs the risk of becoming entangled in conflicts that it lacks the capacity to address, and of exposing its weaknesses as a foreign policy actor. The comparison of Moldova and Georgia spells out the scope and limitations of the ENP in the area of conflict management. In the case of Moldova, domestic support for closer relations with the EU and a willingness to discuss the status of Transnistria have allowed the ENP and other EU instruments to shape the process of conflict management. By contrast, the case of Georgia illustrates the scope for instrumentalization and unintended consequences resulting from a loose policy framework. Acknowledgements Parts of the research for this paper were carried out under the EU's FP6 MIRICO project (Human and Minority Rights in the Life-cycle of Ethnic Conflict). The author gratefully acknowledges the research input of Claire Gordon, Diana Isac and Olga Onuch. Notes The often used label 'frozen conflicts' for the unresolved conflicts in the FSU distracts not only from the differences between the various conflicts in the region, but also from the dynamics underpinning unresolved conflicts, such as attempts at negotiation or a return to increased tension. Sasse (Citation2005, Citation2008b); see also articles by Gordon and Sebastian in this issue. Interview with Ion Stavila, Vice-Minister of Reintegration, Chisinau, July 2008. For more details, see http://www.eubam.org/. EUBAM has worked to reduce smuggling across the border, reform customs services and to induce Transnistrian businesses to register formally with the Moldovan authorities. The EUSR's mandate includes strengthening the EU's contribution to the peaceful settlement of the Transnistria conflict, assisting in the preparation of EU contributions to a settlement, following the developments in Moldova, including Transnistria, closely by establishing contacts with the Moldovan government and other domestic actors, and assisting the further development of EU policy in the region. See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_081/l_08120050330en00500052.pdf. The latest versions of the mandate of 2007 and 2008 add a special emphasis on border management issues tied to the EU's Border Assistance Mission. See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:038:0015:0018:EN:PDF For details, see http://www.delmda.ec.europa.eu/ This is even acknowledged by the usually reluctant Transnistrian leadership and its media. See, for example, The Tiraspol Times, 15 May 2008. Similarly, Shevchuk attended a meeting in Brussels on human trafficking in Brussels with European, Moldovan and Transnistrian parliamentarians and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on 15 May 2008 (Council of the European Union, 15 May 2008). AISmoldpres, State News Agency, 20 June 2000. Kommersant, 11 March 2008; AISmoldpres, 25 June 2008. Kommersant, 11 March 2008. Interview, Chisinau, July 2008. European Commission Citation(2004c). Ukraine has managed to contain its own conflict potential in Crimea (Sasse, Citation2007). Nevertheless, the lack of societal integration among the Crimean Tatars makes for an unresolved regional issue. It does not figure at all in the EU's policy towards Ukraine, although arguably the ENP could more easily contribute to such issues of conflict prevention rather than to the resolution of frozen conflicts. The main elements of the plan were: the confirmation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Moldova; a special legal status for Transnistria within Moldova; the right to self-determination for Transnistria only in the event that Moldova loses its independence and sovereignty; a proposal for the creation of a common space incorporating legal, economic, social, customs and humanitarian issues; and early free and fair elections in Transnistria monitored by international observers. See Oleh Protsyk, Moldova's Dilemmas in Democratizing Transnistria, available online at: http://www.ecmi.de. However, Ukraine did not back up the EU and USA in their imposition of a travel ban on officials from Tiraspol. For example, the Ukrainian weekly Zerkalo nedeli published an interview with the EUSR Mizsei. The article called the Transnistrian issue 'solvable', and emphasized Yushchenko's significant diplomatic efforts and the potential inherent in Voronin's call for confidence-building measures in Transnistria (23 November 2007). For Moldovan NGOs tracking the implementation of the ENP Action Plan, see Euromonitor and Euroforum. E-democracy publishes a Euromonitor report every 3 months, available online at: http://www.e-democracy.md/en/re-ue/. Euroforum has set up working groups to monitor implementation of specific areas of the Action Plan. Razumkov Centre (Citation2007; and Citation2008, pp. 7–10). Romania's accession to the EU has made the EU's role in Moldova more tangible, and Romania is Moldova's natural ally on the path towards closer relations with the EU. However, Romania has been cautious not to play the cultural card in its relations with Chisinau. In the 1990s, the prospect of a Greater Romania that would include Moldova or parts thereof was one of the issues fuelling the Transnistrian conflict. For the mandate, see http://consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/l_04920060221en00140016.pdf International Crisis Group Citation(2006), p. 9. The Commission's ENP Report on Georgia's progress in 2007 noted the limited progress on democratic reforms; see http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/pdf/progress2008/sec08_393_en.pdf (p. 3). European Parliament Citation(2007), p. 16.