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Vlad Vernygora

PhD Candidate (European Studies)

Analysing the European Neighbourhood Policy: the Eastern Partnership Programme and pragmatic regional functionalism

Background

• 2011- present University of Canterbury (New Zealand), part-time, PhD Candidate European Studies
• 2007-2011 University of Canterbury (New Zealand), Master of Arts in European Studies (with distinction)
• 2005-2007 University o f Canterbury (New Zealand), Bachelor of Arts with Honours in European Studies (First Class Honours)
• 1990-1995 National University 'The Yaroslav the Wise Law Academy of Ukraine' (Ukraine), Specialist of Law

Contact Details

Vlad Vernygora

Postal address:
c/o National Centre for Research on Europe
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch
New Zealand

Details of Research

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), established only in 2004, was the EU's late but nevertheless direct response to a high number of issues and challenges, which were associated with the entity's neighbours and the effectiveness of the EU's interactions with them. 

From one side, the ENP appears to be a general multidimensional policy that promotes the privilege and, to some extent, luck to be formally recognised as a neighbour of the EU. From the other side, its distinct bilateral nature frames conditional relationships with neighbours on the case by case basis via Action Plans. Being solidified by elements of crisis management, some of the examples of the ENP-originated relationship building activities have been successful and mutually beneficial (interactions with Georgia and Moldova). There are also few cases where the ENP has not been enjoying any visible success.

Arguably, the ENP is one of the EU's major policies that proves the fact that the contemporary model of the EU’s governance is far from being finalised. Whilst realistically responding to interdependence, the EU still keeps engaging some heavy intergovernmental elements in its decision-making process.At the same time, the flourishing Central-Eastern European neo-regionalism, the rise of Russia and on-going conflicts in the neighbourhood require the EU to be more unified to engage into nouvelle functions-driven interactions on the wider European continent. In relations to the ENP, the mechanisms of functional spillover, with their historic emphasis on economics, are becoming far more sophisticated with some of new features like crisis prevention, human rights promotion or helping neighbours in their civil society building activities. 

So, what is the ENP now? Is it getting transformed into an inertial policy of a liberal  political entity with unaccounted wealth and porous borders? Or is it leaning to be related to the practice of politics in the context of becoming a solid theory-backed tool to ensure the EU’s secured stability in the future? Given the diversity of approaches existing in the filed of political science, there is also a major question on the best approach to the study of the ENP’s phenomenon.

Taking the example of the ENP’s Eastern Partnership Programme (EPP), a distinct brunch of the ENP launched in May 2009, my dissertation will claim that the application of pragmatic regional functionalism should with necessity lead us towards understanding the EPP’s political actions, analysing its operational effectiveness and forecasting its prospects to survive as a policy in the diverse European East. The dissertation will be designed to contribute to the theoretical debate on European integration in the context of defining a new, pragmatic, normative and proactive functions-driven regional policy.

The outcome of this research work should with necessity lead towards determination and further formalisation of frameworks and procedures, with which the EPP will be clearly outlined and conceptually understood by the parties involved in order to significantly increase the policy's degree of sustainability and widen the scope of its operational capacity.

Research Interests

• Central-Eastern Europe and its interaction with the EU and New Zealand
• Post-Communist Member States of the EU
• Neo-regionalism in Europe
• the EU’s legal character

Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards

• EUCN PhD Scholarship (2011)
• Pusan National University EU Centre Fellowship (2011)
• University of Canterbury Master's Scholarship (2007)
• EU Centres Network Scholarship (2006)
• European Union Award for Excellence (Delegation of the European Commission to New Zealand, 2006)
• NCRE Honours Scholarship (2006)

Recent Publications (2005-)