The regional dimensions of the ENP

The EU has taken multilateral, and more politically oriented, initiatives to complement the ENP – in 2008 with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and subsequently with the Eastern Partnership. The two initiatives have created a more complex backdrop for the ENP, which was intended as – and on paper remains – a uniform policy, despite the high profile of the regional initiatives. These two initiatives have been designed as a way to address the specific needs of these two very different geopolitical regions and foster ownership of the policies by the partner countries in a multilateral forum. They encourage cooperation and projects through the UfM secretariat in Barcelona, and the different platforms of cooperation and flagship initiatives under the Eastern Partnership.