The EU and its Eastern Neighbours

The EU and its member states have an intrinsic interest in ensuring that the countries on their borders become stable democracies and "good neighbours". At the same time an expanding EU with new member states has had to introduce and adopt all the EU's rules and regulations relating to the borderless "Schengen Zone". These developments have meant that the new members of the EU have had to impose harsh visa regimes for non-EU citizens in order to adapt to the rigorous EU-standards for the management of the outer borders, and the relationships between these neighbours have not always been harmonious. Developing relationships within Eastern Europe has become one of the most important foreign policy challenges confronting the European Union in recent times. This book aims to highlight and analyse the ongoing consequences and implications of the areas of dispute between the members of the EU and their neighbours over border control, migratory pressures and security. Unique in merging conceptual concerns and issues with strong, well defined case studies this innovative and authoritative work offers in-depth analysis of the problems facing the EU and the new policies and initiatives it has adopted to address the issues.