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Eastern dimension and the Balkans / Working Paper

Europe and Russia, Beyond Energy

01/03/2007 By Kristina Kausch

Much has recently been written on EU-Russian relations, and Russia often appears to have dominated the European foreign policy agenda during the last two years.

Both analysis and policy-making have focused overwhelmingly on the issue of energy. Europe’s relations with Russia have in this sense become emblematic of the tension that is widely presumed to exist between principle and self-interest.

While such a focus is understandable, this paper argues that the EU must develop a longer-term vision towards Russia that more fully comprehends the complex relationship between Russia’s authoritarian drift and European foreign policies.

The EU must lift its eyes from the challenges of the immediate juncture – with negotiations due for a new EU-Russia Strategic Partnership Agreement – and understand better how these flow from underlying political changes.

This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on this topic by suggesting that Russia’s deep-seated political reconfiguration requires the EU look beyond matters of energy security and stake out a more coherent prioritisation of its objectives towards Russia.

With the support of:

 

 

 

 

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Keywords

Belarus Caucasus Central Asia and Russia CFSP Civil society Conditionality Democratisation Diplomacy Eastern Europe and Russia Energy Security EU EU Foreign Policy Europe European Union Georgia Human rights Moldova Regional powers Russia Ukraine

Related publications

• Moldova, Transnistria and European Democracy Policies
• Russia: the G8 summit and beyond
• Survey of European Democracy Promotion Policies 2000-2006

Bio author: Kristina Kausch

Kristina Kausch is a Researcher at FRIDE's Democratisation Programme and focuses on European policies of democracy promotion in the European neighbourhood. Prior to joining FRIDE in November 2004, she worked for the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on programmes of good governance and democratisation, and at the Bertelsmann Foundation.