EU Council stresses importance of special relationship with neighbours

The FINANCIAL — Following the launch last month of a review of the European Neighbourhood Policy, EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on April 20, emphasised the need to work on a revision of the ENP in order to ensure it provides the adequate framework for long term relations with partners, while making it more political and responsive to the diverse challenges in the neighbourhood.

The Council stressed that a revised ENP should take into account interests and needs of the EU and its neighbours, commitment to reforms, and the level of ambition of the partnership, according to EU Neighbourhood Info Centre.
 
It said stability and prosperity in the neighbourhood, based on principles of political inclusion, rule of law, the respect of human rights and inclusive economic development, is a fundamental interest of the EU.
 
Ministers reiterated the importance to develop integration and dialogue under the regional dimensions of the ENP, and underlined the central role of the Eastern Partnership and the Union for the Mediterranean.