The European Commission has established two new DGs to manage external relations. The Directorate-General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) takes forward the EU’s Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood policies. The new Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA) will focus on the EU’s wider neighbourhood, especially the Mediterranean.
In the enlargement area, DG ENEST assists countries with a perspective to join the EU in meeting the criteria defined by the Treaty of European Union and the European Council. DG ENEST works closely with the European External Action Service, closely monitors the progress of enlargement countries and supports accession negotiations as required by the Council.
The DG manages the bilateral relations of the Union with candidates and potential candidates on their path to the EU, with a strong focus on reforms related to the rule of law, economic governance and public administration reform. DG ENEST manages the bulk of the Union’s financial and technical assistance to the countries that are candidates or potential candidates for EU membership, as well as countries or peoples in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood, including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
The assistance is provided through several financing instruments: the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), the Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), the Ukraine Facility, and the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans. DG ENEST also manages three investment frameworks – the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD+), the Western Balkans Investment Framework, and the Ukraine Investment Framework, providing budgetary guarantees, financial instruments and blending.
Following President von der Leyen’s call for a more focused approach to the EU’s wider neighbourhood, especially the Mediterranean, the European Commission has set up the new Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA). This new DG will build strong partnerships with North Africa, Middle East and the Gulf countries to ensure prosperity, security and resilience based on mutual interests. DG MENA will focus on taking forward partnerships that look at investment, economic stability, jobs, energy, transport, security, migration and other areas of mutual interest.
The newly created DG under the lead of Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, is now the entry point of the Commission for all the countries in the region. The DG will help drive and shape the goals of the EU Mediterranean policy, facilitating them with technical and financial support.
