EUROPEAN INITIATIVES AND THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP.

Zachmann and Giucci observe that the Eastern Partnership emerged from the European Neighbourhood Policy that formed the framework for the EU external policy towards most of its neighbouring countries since 2004. Valasek argues that the EU governments should take steps to ensure that the Union gets recognition for the role its member-states are playing in helping Eastern Europe to cope with the crisis. Hillion and Mayhew maintain that it is through bilateral relations that the East European states will gain the most in political and economic terms. Kochenov pinpoints the main drawbacks from which the ENP suffers and assess the likely impact of the newly-introduced Union for the Mediterranean and Eastern Partnership initiatives to revitalise the policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]