The European Union and its neighboring countries: The economic geography of trade, Foreign Direct Investment and development

Abstract

This Editorial looks at the process of political and economic integration between the European Union and the European Neighborhood Policy countries with a special focus on the processes linked to trade flows, Foreign Direct Investment and their spatial impacts. This Editorial highlights the key ‘unanswered’ questions in the existing literature and explores outstanding conceptual and empirical challenges, discussing how the various papers included in the Theme Issue can provide systematic coherent answers to a number of these research questions. The Editorial includes a synopsis of the key findings of the papers and highlights their connections and linkages. It concludes with open questions for further research and a potential agenda for future conceptual and empirical analyses in this area.