This paper will address some of the legal and institutional issues that arise in relation to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), its genesis, rationale and policy context. These include the interaction between the ENP and other legal instruments governing EU relations with the neighbourhood states, the appropriateness of its methodology and structures, and the approach taken towards the membership aspirations of (some of) the states concerned. It will focus in particular (and with an emphasis on the Eastern European states) on the EU's emphasis on the rule of law, in the light of its overall objectives in relation to the ENP states, especially its security objectives.