ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the long-term objective of a Neighbourhood Economic Community (NEC) contributes to the legislative approximation process between the European Union (EU) and the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). It also examines to what extent differentiated integration in the EaP is an option and whether this is likely to help or hinder the accomplishment of a NEC. A NEC is expected to emerge that would include the application of shared regulatory frameworks and improved market access for goods and services among European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partners, and some appropriate institutional arrangement such as dispute settlement mechanisms. Differentiated integration can simply be defined as integration that does not comprise all the members of an integration scheme, at least not to the same degree. The European Economic Area (EEA), which since 1994 extends the EU internal market to some members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), could in this sense, is considered an economic community.
