The paper attributes this to "inconsistencies" in the bloc's dealings with neighbouring countries to the east and south of its borders.
There is a "mismatch" between the EU's "low politics", which focuses on agreeing short and long-term aims and identifying benchmarks, and its involvement in "high politics", which rests on the activism of individuals such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Missiroli and Balfour claim.
For instance, the bloc is neglecting to "confront the issue of whether countries to the east of Europe are eligible for EU membership," the EPC paper asserts. Similarly, member states cannot agree on how to handle relations with the South Mediterranean given their "colonial ties, historical bilateral ties and national approaches to the integration of Muslims," it adds.
This means that the EU's approach comes across as "schizophrenic", in that it has "increasingly friendly relations with authoritarian regimes it claims to want to reform and avoids engaging with some political actors, despite its commitment to intercultural and interfaith dialogue," the analysts argue.
On top of this, they claim that EU policy towards the countries on its easternmost and South Mediterranean borders is "incoherent".
Whereas membership of the Union "strengthens the incentives for countries in the East to reform by offering carrots such as more mobility and freer trade," it only focuses on supporting projects in South Mediterranean countries that are "beyond the usual Commission funding" and fails to "reward [the region] in exchange for reforms," the authors assert.
Missiroli and Balfour hope the new Commission, set to take office later this year, will provide a good opportunity to address the problems facing the ENP.
If the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, it will provide the policy with "coherence and coordination," particularly by creating the post of high representative for foreign policy, they argue.
Lisbon provides "ample scope for articulating regional foreign policies more effectively and consistently," the paper concludes.
