@article{2019:schumacher:die_europ,
title = {Die Europäische Union, die Östliche Partnerschaft und „Assoziierung Plus“: zur Debatte über die Einbindung assoziierter Nachbarn unterhalb einer EU-Mitgliedschaft},
year = {2019},
note = {This article takes up the European Neighbourhood Policy-related debate
on the future design of the association policy of the European Union
(EU) towards the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). It
pursues two objectives. First, it examines - apart from a brief
discussion of the origins and genesis of the concept of “association
plus” in the context of the wider EU neighbourhood framework - how
the intra-EU discourse on the future of the EaP has evolved and
changed in recent years and which propositions are nowadays at the
core of the debate. Secondly, it analyses these propositions, mainly
revolving around the integration of EaP countries into the emerging
Energy and Digital Union and the Schengen Area as well as the creation
of bilateral customs unions, in what regards opportunities and
challenges for the eastern neighbours. The article argues that
“association plus”, as demanded by the European Parliament and
some EaP countries, would generate considerable financial and
political costs even for those eastern neighbours that have
implemented significant reforms and that it seems acceptable only if
it were explicitly declared as an intermediate step towards the
granting of an EU membership perspective.},
journal = {integration},
pages = {205--217},
author = {Schumacher, Tobias},
volume = {42},
number = {3}
}