Russia
Can the EU thaw frozen conflicts
30 June 2008
The Czech government floated proposals in May that would see the EU take a more active role in solving frozen conflicts in eastern Europe. The Czechs hold the EU’s rotating presidency next year, so their wish may become reality.
Dmitry Medvedev - Putin clone or the new man?
13 March 2008
As Dmitry Medvedev walked across Red Square to join the concert celebrating his crushing victory in the Russian presidential elections, he could have been forgiven for wondering whether he had reached the pinnacle of achievement or been handed a poisoned chalice.
Poland’s bold new foreign policy
01 February 2008
For the rest of Europe, the worst thing about Poland’s Law and Justice government, led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was its foreign policy. His approach towards Russia, Germany and (sometimes) the EU – supported by his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski – was confrontational.
EU-Russia: No more ambitions
01 November 2007
The CER organised a conference on EU-Russia relations in Brussels on October 30th, together with ‘Russia Profile’ magazine. I have been to dozens of these EU-Russia meetings in the last couple of years.
A grand bargain with Russia?
19 October 2007
Relations between the Russia and the West have not been so prickly since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Viewed from the US and the EU, Russia is being obstructive across a whole swathe of issues, such as its blockade of trade with Georgia, its refusal to accept independence for Kosovo, and its opposition to further UN sanctions on Iran.
Reciprocity will not secure Europe’s energy
01 August 2007
As Moscow growls angrily at the West, Europeans are becoming more worried about their energy supplies. Will Russia be willing to sell us the gas we need to heat our houses and power our industries? Will it be able to?
Russia, realism and EU unity
20 July 2007
The Litvinenko murder case is only one of a growing number of disputes between the Kremlin and EU countries. But the EU has been slow to reassess its relations with a more autocratic and assertive Russia. Divisions within the EU have not helped.
G8 and world politics
11 June 2007
Angela Merkel can be content with the outcome of the G8 summit in Heiligendamm which she chaired with her by now characteristic mix of modesty, determination and pragmatism.
Three questions that Europe must ask about Russia
16 May 2007
On Friday 18 May 2007, EU leaders meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Samara. The summit will have few tangible results, partly because the Union is internally divided.
The EU should not ignore the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation
11 May 2007
The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) is an organisation of increasing strategic importance. It brings together Russia, China and four Central Asian states.
Globalisation: Business versus politics?
20 April 2007
The CER and Accenture brought together a group of business people, journalists and policy analysts today, to discuss what the world may look like in 2020. What struck me is that there is not one debate about globalisation but several. And they hardly touch.
The EU and Russia: From principle to pragmatism
10 November 2006
The EU and Russia find it difficult to get on. Europeans are disturbed by the Russian government's scant regard for civil liberties, its tightening grip on the energy sector and its bullying of neighbouring countries.
Turkey, Russia and modern nationalism
01 August 2006
The EU faces few challenges greater than working out a modus vivendi with two large and difficult neighbours. The way the Union chooses to deal with this duo will do much to determine its future character.
Issue 49 - 2006
28 July 2006
- Turkey, Russia and modern nationalism, Charles Grant
- Britain and France must pool parts of their defence, Edgar Buckley
- Serbia’s choice, Angela Heath
Russia, the EU and the common neighbourhood
02 September 2005
Throughout the 1990s, Russia tended to underestimate the impact of the EU's forthcoming eastward enlargement. Compared with NATO's expansion into post-Communist territory, EU enlargement looked like the lesser evil.
Russia, the EU and Ukraine: Not a tug of war
01 December 2004
What has been the real choice in Ukraine's presidential election? To judge not only from the Russian media, but also from some western newspapers, Ukraine is the subject of a tug of war between Russia and the West.
Learning to live with the new Russia
01 October 2004
The terrorist attack on the Beslan school in North Ossetia horrified people all over Europe, as in other continents. And yet, despite the wave of sympathy that briefly united Russians and other Europeans, the fallout from Beslan is likely to damage the relationship between Russia and the EU.
That relationship had...
That relationship had...
Issue 38 - 2004
24 September 2004
- Learning to live with the new Russia, Charles Grant
- Energy security: A new agenda for Europe, Nick Butler
- A new era in European democracy, Steven Everts, Daniel Keohane
The EU and Russia: Strategic partners or squabbling neighbours?
03 May 2004
The EU and Russia share a multitude of interests and objectives. The EU is Russia's biggest export market, while Russia is a crucial supplier of energy to the Union. However, as Katinka Barysch explains, the two sides often squabble.
The EU-Russia energy dialogue
09 May 2003
Russia is the EU's biggest neighbour. The EU is Russia's most important trading partner and source of foreign investment. Yet EU-Russia relations have often suffered from discord over contentious issues such as trade quotas, rules on visas, the Kaliningrad enclave or human rights in Chechnya. So it is all the...