SEARCHING FOR NEW MOMENTUM IN EU-RUSSIA RELATIONS

2016

In a similar way, Alexei Gromyko's chapter explores Russia's foreign policy strategy towards the post-Soviet states. He contends that both Europe and Russia Executive summary Cristian Nitoiu r elations between the European union (Eu) and russia have been traditionally characterised by the dichotomy between conlict and cooperation. this has inluenced the abstract nature of the Eu-russia strategic partnership. the ukraine crisis has had a deep impact on the Eu's foreign policy and its approach towards russia. It highlighted that the Eu's eastern neighbourhood is characterised by intense geopolitical competition with russia. the crisis also underscored the weakness of the Eu's 'low politics' approach in its relations with russia and post-Soviet space. on the other hand, russia's actions in ukraine have made Eu member states more willing to act together and take a harder line against moscow. thus, Eu-russia relations have entered a period of stalemate.

On 7 May 2018, Russia entered the fourth and probably final presidency of Vladimir Putin. This was preceded by a further increase in tension and mistrust between Russia and the West as a result of the Skripal affair and yet another chemical attack in Syria. In this context, the European Union reconfirmed its policy on Russia, centred on five principles: the implementation of the Minsk Agreement, which is a precondition for the lifting of sanctions; strengthening relations with the EU’s Eastern Partners; strengthening the EU’s resilience; selective engagement with Russia; and fostering people-to-people contacts. This report analyses the ramifications of and short-to-medium-term prospects for relations between the EU and Russia. It is structured around three main arguments. First, the views of the EU and Russia on the international and European security order are largely incompatible, which constitutes a difficult framework for the relationship. Second, these disagreements are on display in the conflict in and over Ukraine, where both the EU and Russia remain committed to the Minsk Agreement but pursue their own interpretation of it. And third, economic ties between Europe and Russia will remain significant in the foreseeable future, but this is no panacea for improving the relationship. Foreign-policy experts on both sides broadly share the view that a rapid normalisation of relations is unlikely. Ukraine remains a key obstacle where no quick progress is to be expected. Moreover, the Skripal case revived doubts over whether Russia is really interested in normalising relations with the West; most probably it lacks a domestic consensus on the importance and viability of such a goal. Hence, the report argues that this is not the time for major new initiatives from the EU side. Its priority should be to maintain both its own coherence and pressure on Russia, emphasising that a change of policy is needed on the Russian side as a precondition for improved relations, including the prospects for Russia to benefit from the restoration of full economic ties. Maintaining a consistent approach on security issues, aimed at defending the European security order in the face of Russia’s actions against Ukraine as well as against EU member states, should continue to be at the core of EU policy.

2013

The European Union and Russia are strategic partners – through their geographic situation, their common history, through social and economic obligations. Currently, the EU’s relations with Russia are under pressure for innovation. The EU’s ability to manoeuvre is hindered by the financial crisis, which has developed into a crisis of the Union’s political integration. For that reason, the EU’s relations with Russia depend on the Union’s ability to overcome the crisis and undertake reforms.

2011

Since the beginning of the new millennium, various initiatives have been taken to promote EU-Russian relations. In this context, a triangle centered around the capitals of Berlin, Paris and Moscow may be of particular interest as a driving force for the evolution of EU-Russian relations. The initiatives have also been criticized for going too far in accommodating Russian interests while neglecting the interests of other EU-partners. The first triangle meeting of this kind took place in 2003 with German Chancellor Schroder, French President Chirac and Russian President Putin airing criticism of the US war in Iraq. This meeting was criticized on both sides of the Atlantic. It was followed by further triangle meetings in 2004 and 2006. Leadership changes in all three countries, the fallout of the Russo-Georgian war in 2008 and Western critique on growing authoritarianism in Russia have put further activities on hold. All the more surprising was a new meeting of the Berlin-Paris-Moscow ...

The uncertainties in the new international order, marked by growing interdependence as a result of the processes of globalization, along with fragmentation tendencies in the form of secession and protectionism, together with the numerous threats to international security, contribute to the complexity of the international scenario, raising questions about cooperation and competition, the balancing of norms and interests, and the juxtaposition and coordination of objectives and resources. In this context, the clarification of the relationship between the European Union and its largest neighbor, the Russian Federation, through the identification of competing interests and cooperation opportunities, along with the analysis of the agendas of these distinct actors, are relevant for the understanding of the EU's eastern neighborhood policy in relation to Putin's Russia in a political-security perspective. Realizing they need one another, this relationship has, nevertheless, been marked by many ups and downs. To what extent might cooperation prevail in the midst of competing interests? How far might Putin's growing undemocratic practices affect Moscow's relations with the EU? What impact might the affirmation of a stronger EU security and defense capability have on the EU-Russia link? By seeking to find answers to these and other questions, this paper aims to analyze the complex context in which the EU-Russia relationship takes place, looking for possible ways ahead in the building of cooperation and in the finding of a balance necessary for constructing stability throughout Europe. Looking East: The EU and Russia 2 How has Russia been responding to the new security challenges? Adapting to the changing conditions in a post-cold war context, or changing its security perceptions in response to the European integration process/enlargement policy? And how far might Putin's growing undemocratic practices affect Moscow's relation with the EU? What impact might the affirmation of a stronger EU security and defense capability have on the EU-Russia link? A complex relationship based on distinct principles leaves ample room for cooperation and competition and for an acknowledgment of the benefits of a working strategic partnership, while precluding both the EU and Russia from assuming it as a declared goal, with persisting distrust and animosity. Partners and rivals in the same play: a complex argument where the actors' performance includes both collaborative initiatives and exchange of accusations, seeming like an almost unmanageable "love-hate" relationship.

2019

To develop mutually beneficial international cooperation in Europe, it is especially important to determine the role of strategic communication in relations between Russia and the European Union. Scientists from the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (RANEPA), the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their colleagues from Romania, the US and France have published a large study on Russia-EU relations.

2006

The year 2007 will mark the tenth anniversary of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the EU and Russia. At their Sochi summit in May 2006, the two parties agreed to work towards a new agreement to replace the PCA. This book explores whether the EU and Russia could make a better job of their strained relationship, which, while peaceful, is nevertheless characterised by mounting grumbles on both sides over how to govern oil and gas trade and investment, through to issues of democratic values and divergent approaches to such countries as Georgia and Ukraine in their overlapping neighbourhoods. The book presents the views of independent analysts from both the EU (Michael Emerson, Fabrizio Tassinari and Marius Vahl) and Russia (Nadezhda Arbatova, Timofei Bordachev and Andrey S. Makarychev) on how to proceed. Also included is a view from Europe’s business leaders. The editor, Michael Emerson, was the European Union’s first ambassador to Moscow from 1991 to 1996. The ne...

International Politics

EU-Russia relations have often been considered in scholarship to be governed by the dichotomy between conflict and cooperation. Cooperation has often coexisted or overlapped with conflict on a significant number of issues and policy areas, making relations between the two actors very complex. This article explores the dichotomy between conflict and cooperation, highlighting the way it has influenced the two actors' policies towards the Eastern Neighbourhood. It posits that

Geopolitical, Social Security and Freedom Journal, 2020

Today the relationship between Russia and the today EU-28 (today EU-27) members of the European Union is essential and very strategically important; this issue is bound to become more urgent as the two draws closer together over the next decades. In this paper, we discuss this and the Russian Federation’s role in the Ukraine conflict that has seriously affected EU-Russia relations. The EU and Russia have a long record of cooperation on issues of bilateral and international concern in several fields, from climate change to drug and human trafficking, but also the organized crime, terrorism, and non-proliferation. In particular, Europe, the “old traditional Europe”, acquires special weight for Russia in the context of the cooling down of relations between Russia and the United States. We will discuss gas, oil, and energy, but we can see that the solution can be only economic, and the oil and agriculture sectors could help do just that. “Business is business”.

'In the spirit of the new thinking, we introduce the idea of the 'all-European house…which signifies, above all, the acknowledgement of a certain integral whole, although the states in question belong to different social systems and are members of opposing military political blocs standing against each other.' 1 It has been over 20 years since the decline and fall of the Soviet Union and the reorientation of many of its satellite states, yet the relationship between the EU and former communist power of Russia still has a multifaceted nature, characterised by both mutual acknowledgement of the others global economic weight, brokering mutual co-operation, as well as conflicting interests in the international realm. A key document in negotiating new relations between the two was the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), signed in 1994 and introduced in 1997 involving a mutual partnership in key fields like economy, culture, education, science and technology and other areas. The PCA was accompanied by an array of institutionalized meetings scheduled at various levels.

Survival, 2019

In the drama of 2014-political crisis in Ukraine, Russia's annexation of Crimea, armed conflict in eastern Ukraine-Russia-EU relations turned almost overnight into confrontation and near conflict. As Yury Borko has observed, five basic factors define that confrontation today: 1) mutual diplomatic and economic sanctions and counter-sanctions; 2) a 'freeze' in official relations and mechanisms for cooperation under existing treaties and agreements, as well as in the working relationship between the two sides; 3) a 'freeze' in both official and unofficial talks on preparing a new foundational Russia-EU agreement to replace the outdated Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1994 that expired in 2007, and that both parties have renewed annually since; 4) chronic military tensions and confrontational rhetoricincluding accusations that, among other things, Russia supports extremist, right-wing, populist and anti-European forces within the EU, and that its intelligence agencies attempted to assassinate Sergei Skripal in the UKaccompanied by actions such as military exercises and flyovers by military aircraft; and 5) the resultant, near-complete breakdown in mutual trust. Russia-EU relations are now at their lowest point in history, having been in deep crisis for five years. 1 Most politicians and experts are extremely pessimistic about the possibility of restoring constructive relations. They hold out little hope for resuming

2011

2021

The Russia-Europe relationship is deteriorating, signaling the darkest era yet in security on the continent since the end of the Cold War. In addition, the growing influence of the Trump administration has destabilized the transatlantic security community, compelling Europe—especially the European Union—to rethink its relations with Russia. The volume editors’ primary goal is to illuminate the nature of the deteriorating security relationship between Europe and Russia, and the key implications for its future. While the book is timely, the editors and contributors also draw out long-term lessons from this era of diplomatic degeneration to show how increasing cooperation between two regions can devolve into rapidly escalating conflict. While it is possible that the relationship between Russia and Europe can ultimately be restored, it is also necessary to understand why it was undermined in the first place. The fact that these transformations occur under the backdrop of an uncertain tr...

Relations between the EU and Russia have been stagnating for many years. Expectations on both sides differ greatly, and their non-fulfillment compounds mutual frustration. The EU needs a more realistic assessment of the current situation in Russia, one that is not based on hopes, unrealistic expectations, and stereotypes. The right approach lies neither in focusing entirely on human right issues nor in only doing business with Russia. Rather, the EU should concentrate on setting the rules, even if this comes at a cost in the short run. The analysis of three key areas in the relations-energy, neighborhood, and visa policy-shows the degree to which the assessments of relations differ. It also underlines how security concerns still influence policy. The conclusion is that even if Russia is a difficult partnerespecially now, as it blocks nearly every cooperation initiative-the EU can and must do more. First of all, the EU should not accept Russian rules for the relationship but set and enforce its own rules. Secondly, the EU should use and apply existing instruments in a less ideological, but more pragmatic way. Finally, rather than give priority to stabilizing the ruling elite, Brussels should refocus its policy on potential partners within the elite and society at large.