beyondukraine.euandrussiainsearchofanewrelation

Recommendations

Info

114 Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia in Search of a New Relation face a rival economic space stretching from St. Petersburg to Shanghai. European interests come first The establishment of renewed cooperation between the EU and Russia should be primarily based on European interests, which do not completely coincide with those of the US. It would suffice to note that bilateral trade between Russia and the EU amounted to $401 billion in 2013, while Russia-US total trade amounted for just $22 billion. Furthermore, the bulk of the EU-Russia trade is made of strategically important goods: energy product. To this aim, one should recall that even today almost 40 per cent of the EU gas imports come from Russia. Such percentage reaches a full 100 per cent for some Eastern European countries, starting from the Baltic republics. The Russia-EU relationship is therefore basically different than the one between Russia and the US, not only because of geographic proximity. From both an economic and strategic point of view the Ukraine crisis and the reshaping of the relationship with Moscow are substantially European problems. Therefore the EU should definitively assume the leading role on those issues. Moving Ukraine from a battlefield to a cooperation field Ukraine and other former Soviet countries should no longer be considered a battlefield between European – or Western – interests and Russian ones, but as a space of necessary and feasible cooperation between them. Once more, this objective will not be easy to achieve, but it is the only possible path towards the stabilization of Ukraine and the normalization of the relationship between the EU and Russia. The EU should encourage Russia to definitively recognize the independence of post-Soviet states in a context of partnership, not of exclusion. To accomplish this a mechanism of regular bilateral
Conclusions. What Policy Actions for the EU? 115 consultations is needed not only to manage the Ukraine crisis but also to prevent the emergence of new ones in the post-Soviet space. The issue of the Treaty on European Security, as well as reform of the OSCE should be put back on the agenda. At the same time the work of the NATO-Russia Council should be resumed as a discussion forum to address common threats and challenges, not only on the European continent. The Ukrainian membership in NATO should be excluded or, at least, postponed. The use of force to resolve Ukraine’s internal conflicts should be completely excluded as well as the supply of heavy weapons to the Ukrainian government and all measures that might encourage military escalation. Such efforts in the security and military field should go hand in hand with a joint EU-Russia initiative aimed at providing economic support to Ukraine. By the same token, it is crucial to promote rounds of negotiations with a view to removing the incompatibility between the European Free Trade Agreements and the Eurasian Customs Union. In addition, the EU should try hard to support Ukraine by laying the groundwork for functional and sustainable rule of law. Last but not least, the stabilization of a historically and culturally heterogeneous country like Ukraine might also require a process of federalization. Crimea could be included in such a process, too.
Page 3 and 4:
Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia in Se
Page 5:
The Italian Institute for Internati
Page 9 and 10:
Introduction During the last 15 yea
Page 11 and 12:
Introduction 9 ‘battleground’ w
Page 13:
Introduction 11 engagement, and sym
Page 16 and 17:
14 Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia in
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37:
Page 38 and 39:
Page 40 and 41:
Page 42 and 43:
Page 44 and 45:
Page 47 and 48:
3. After Maidan: Re-Starting NATO-R
Page 49 and 50:
After Maidan: Re-Starting NATO-Russ
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65: After Maidan: Re-Starting NATO-Russ
Page 68 and 69: 66 Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia in
Page 102 and 103: 100 Beyond Ukraine. EU and Russia i
Page 113 and 114: Conclusions. What Policy Actions fo
Page 115: Conclusions. What Policy Actions fo
show all

beyondukraine.euandrussiainsearchofanewrelation

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?