Russia, the EU and the Common Neighbourhood (original) (raw)
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EU-Russia Partnership and EU Enlargement in Eastern Europe
Columbia University Press, 2003
In sharp contrast to the emotional reactions triggered in Russia by NATO's eastward expansion, Russia has not been particularly agitated at the prospect of the enlargement of the European Union. In connection with this expansion, Russia has only made the headlines of Western newspapers once, in relation to the issue of Kaliningrad. This Russian enclave--which, following the admission of Poland and Lithuania to the EU will be completely surrounded by EU states--has been a major political issue in the last two years. However, Brussels and Moscow have now reached a compromise on the question that is acceptable to both the EU and Russia.
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.
EU, Russia and less common neighborhood
The run-up to and outcomes of the Vilnius summit in November 2013 indicate that the Eastern Partnership is undergoing a period of crisis. This is primarily because the EU and its Eastern partners have not been successful at communicating their respective goals to each other and agreeing on viable methods for reaching them. The same applies to the EU-Russia relationship, which is becoming increasingly dysfunctional, especially with regard to the so-called common neighbourhood. Although the two policy areas interact, a clearer separation between them is currently more justified than a gradual conflation of the two approaches. The summit has highlighted a series of problems that, so far, have been addressed only sporadically or at the rhetorical level. The silver lining of Vilnius can be found in seeing it as an opportunity to analyze these problems systematically in order to modify existing policy to take better account of current realities.
Dealing with the elephant in the room: The EU, its 'Eastern neighbourhood' and Russia
The article seeks to advance the understanding of the shifting European Union (EU)-Russia interaction in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus by exploring both the EU’s policies and responses to Russia’s initiatives in the region. Drawing on different strands of literature (regionalism, international relations and EU foreign policy analysis), it identifies three scope conditions under which to expect EU policies to influence the interaction with Russia in the shared neighbourhood: the degree of integration offered to post-Soviet countries as part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)/Eastern Partnership (EaP); the extent to which the EU seeks to link Russia with the ENP/EaP; and the degree of internal coherence on the EU’s interaction with Russia. The article argues that all three conditions have contributed to shaping interaction with Russia, albeit to different degrees. It is primarily the EU’s new role of a region-builder as part of the EaP that triggered Russia’s counter-actions, thereby resulting in a growing competition for influence in what has become a contested neighbourhood.
EU-Russia relations in the context of the eastern neighbourhood
2015
This paper briefly examines EU-Russia relations in the context of the eastern neighbourhood. Both the EU and Russia’s ambitions for the eastern region have evolved into two competing region-building projects underpinned by differing strategies, norms, instruments, and actors. Although projecting competing rationalities, the two projects, until recently, had peacefully co-existed, working around conflicting issues of political norms and economic convergence, which were not necessarily seen as insurmountable for furthering regional cooperation. Their subsequent politicisation and securitisation, as a consequence of events in Ukraine, have rendered regional partnership currently incompatible, revealing a profound lack of understanding the region by both the EU and Russia; and the EU under-exploited capacity to work co-jointly with the Eurasian Union (and Russia) vis-a-vis the region. The author of this paper, Elena Korosteleva, contends that the EU must make an effort to acknowledge and engage with the above actors over the region, in order to develop cooperative strategies, based on shared interests, international norms and compatible instruments for the advancement of economic and political convergence across the region.
Studying EU–Russia policies in the shared neighbourhood in Russia and in the West
Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2019
The article examines and compares the Russian and Western research agendas on the European Union (EU)-Russia policies in their shared neighbourhood. The analysis will be implemented in four successive steps. (1) The conceptualisation of the EU-Russia common neighbourhood in the Western and Russian researches will be analysed in three dimensions (terminology attributed to this region, political-social transformations, regionalism) that will contextualise the subsequent analysis of the Western and Russian research agendas on (2) EU policies (European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership) and (3) Russia's policies (including the issues of the Eurasian integration) towards the common neighbourhood and also on (4) EU-Russia interactions within this area. The conclusions will identify and systemise the major trends as well as nuances in each agenda and also the differences and asymmetries between the Western and Russian research agendas will be outlined and analysed. These differences are determined by both, the policy-oriented and academic factors. The agendas are asymmetric, yet they are not monolithic, pluralism exists in both of them. Prospects for the further research will be outlined.
Challenges and dilemmas within the relations between Russia and the European Union
CES Working Paper, Vol. III 4, 2012
Every EU enlargement signified a step towards Central and Eastern Europe, therefore, the 2004 „big bang enlargement”, followed by the one in 2007, modified the geopolitical context within the „old continent” and also increased the importance of the European Union regionally, as well as globally. Integrating the ex-soviet countries into the EU meant taking them out of the Russian sphere of influence, as well as attempting to super size the EU territory in order to increase the European power on a long term. Despite the weakening of Russia after the Cold War, the federation still represents a challenge regarding „pax europea”, as Russia still has an amazing military capacity, as well as important natural resources. The entrance into the Russian sphere of influence, the European energetic dependency on Russia, the conflicts within the separatist regions situated at the EU eastern borders are just few of the many challenges regarding the relations between the European Union and Russia.
Russia–EU Relations, or How the Russians Really View the EU
The recent history and the current state of relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) reflect the geopolitical competition between the two powers over their contested neighbourhood – Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Although prioritizing the EU as its major trade and political partner, Russia is also conscious of its strategic interests in the ‘near abroad’. While there is little discrimination in the political discourse of Russian elites in relation to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), in reality, as popular opinion indicates, those neighbours who openly show their allegiances to the EU – Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova – have been increasingly categorized as hostile and unfriendly towards Russia. Public opinion remains strikingly congruent with and reflective of government foreign policy preferences.