Towards an Evidence-Based European Neighbourhood Policy: SEARCH Final Policy Guide, EU Seventh Framework Programme Collaborative Research Project, Final Policy Report

The stunning turn of events in early 2014 that transformed a relatively benign Association Agreement between the EU and the Ukraine has suddenly propelled the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to the fore. This report draws from the SEARCH project's impressive list of original research papers a series of policy inferences and findings that may help policy analysts and officials reorient the ENP more to the satisfaction of EU countries and their neighbouring countries. Starting from the assumption that im provements to the ENP should be factually-based on the best available data, the project developed an evidence-based approach to policy findings. The many research groups and scholars involved provided key information about policy possibilities that was taken on board in the preparation of this document, as outlined in Section 2. The main body of the text (sections 3-6) examines the policy content drawn from working research papers concerning: 1. Trade and Foreign Direct Investment, 2. Mobility and Migration, 3. Innovation and Knowledge Flows, and 4. Social Capital and Institutions. From approximately 100 research papers, plus a series of Policy Notes and Policy Briefs prepared by research authors,the team responsible for this Final Policy Report extracted and evaluated 77 distinct policy findings. The 77 were reviewed internally and externally at the final Policy Conference in Istanbul. Internal reviews revealed a subset of 39 that team members considered the most relevant, provocative or important for further testing by external experts from the ENCs who then scored how well each fit the regional circumstances, the relative benefits, and potential ease of implementation (section 7).