EU surrounded by ‘ring of fire’

The EU’s dream of building “a ring of friends” from the Caucasus to the Sahara has turned into a nightmare as conflicts beyond its borders send refugees teeming into Europe.

In contrast to the success of its eastward enlargement drive that transformed former communist countries into thriving market democracies, the European neighbourhood policy launched in 2003 has been a spectacular flop.

It offered money, technical assistance and market access, but not membership, to 16 countries to the east and south in return for adopting EU democratic, administrative and economic norms.