‘Neighbours of Europe and European Neighbours’? Patterns of Contestation of European Neighbourhood Policy in Parliamentary Debates

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) both in its Southern and Eastern dimension is attracting significant share of criticism from European political actors. The Arab Spring and its aftermath and the Russian activities in the Eastern Europe are posing a significant challenge to the European security and unity. So far the European actions did not bring stability, prosperity and security to its neighbourhood and there is widespread conviction that ENP requires significant reforms. The main aim of the paper is to analyse patterns of contestation of ENP by European political actors. Special attention is devoted to functioning of ENP and especially the role of European institutions in its implementation. Moreover the justifications given for ENP shed light on the specific constructions of defining who Europeans are and demarcating clear borders with those perceived as non-European. The analysis also reveals what are the norms and values on which the EU’s actions are built. The paper will analyse and compare the contestation of ENP in the national parliaments (Poland, the United Kingdom) and in the European Parliament between 2004-2014. The paper will especially focus on analysis of arguments of those parties that are labeled as Eurosceptic and their arguments regarding ENP.