THE EU AND SOUTH AFRICA: EXPERIENCE OF COOPERATION

Abstract

The process of the El) enlargement - mainly at the expense of the former «socialist-camp» countries - and the acquisition by other countries, including Ukraine, of the status of «the EU neighbouring country» caused quite an understandable interest in various forms of European Union’s co-operation with other countries. This primarily refers to geographically proximate, bordering countries, such as, for example, the EFTA member countries and the countries in the Mediterranean. However, the phenomenon of globalization introduces amendments into traditional conceptions, and it turns out that even geographically remote countries in respect to the world economy can be closer than the bordering countries. A striking example of this type of relations is the relations between the EU and the Republic of South-Africa (SAR).