EU policy towards small and medium enterprises in the eastern partnership countries as an instrument of political influence

Abstract

The paper deals with the problem of investigating strategies and experience of the European Union which it employs to strengthen its political influence in the Eastern Partnership countries by means of working with business sector. The author analyses statistical data, official EU position and programme documents, funding data. Institutional and constructivist approaches are employed to study the processes and results of EU policies. The study covers the period between 2009 and 2020, and investigates aims, instruments, funding, KPI of the EU in dealing with business communities of Eastern Partnership countries. The author gives an overview of a range of opinions in expert discussions concerning the humanitarian influence of the EU. The conclusion is drawn that the scale and forms of EU interventions and funding for particular country are conditioned by the level of political relationship with its government. The bulk of funding (more than 60%) is directed not to loans or subsidies to SMEs, but to humanitarian (i.e. “soft power”) projects focusing of particular groups – entrepreneurs, active youth, regions, officials, etc. EU humanitarian penetration into focus countries of EP creates an infrastructure, social organizations and groups, which could be utilized to political ends.