Est. 1min 26-01-2004 (updated: 07-11-2012 ) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Commissioner Verheugen has said that the EU seeks to “elevate its relationship with neighbours to a status as close as economically and politically feasible to that of incoming members”. Read more with Euractiv Prodi urges faster reforms in AlbaniaCommission President Romano Prodi has called on Albania to speed up reforms as part of its bid to join the EU. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters BackgroundAs part of his rolling tour of the EU's new neighbours, Enlargement Commissioner Günther Verheugen visited Tunisia on 21 January 2004. In his address to the Institut Arabe des Chefs d'Entreprises, Mr Verheugen outlined the concept and content of the EU's Neighbourhood Policy. Mr Verheugen said that the Union aims to base its special relationships with its neighbours on "shared values and common interests". The EU, he said, is prepared to go beyond the existing agreements: it would offer to its neighbours a "stake" in its internal market (ie as a long-term objective it would extend the 'four freedoms' to these countries). The EU's other priority areas would be Justice and Home Affairs, infrastructure networks and environment and people-to-people contacts in research, culture and education. The EU would also consider opening certain Community programmes to its new neighbours. Mr Verheugen said the EU would prepare individualised short and medium-term Action Plans, as "differentiation is a key notion in our neighbourhood policy", and would agree on these plans with its neighbours. It is the "initial political intention" of the EU to "elevate its relationship with neighbours to a status as close as economically and politically feasible to the status of incoming members".
