EU-Russia Relations in the New Global Context

The EU-Russia relationship is clearly in the grip of a new configuration of forces that is shaping the European continent. Deteriorating relations over missile defence and Kosovo have lead to a new low point with the Georgia-Russia war in August 2008 while the gas row in Ukraine again demonstrated the EU’s precarious energy security. There is clearly a need for a sustainable and constructive modus vivendi between both actors that safeguards European stability. President Medvedev has pointed in this direction by calling for a new European security architecture and there have been suggestions that Russia is ready to withdraw the idea of stationing Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad. Simultaneously, both actors are feeling the adverse effects of the global economic downturn, which amongst other factors aggravated the Russia-Ukrainian gas spat.

This lunch debate aims to discuss the current state of play of the EU-Russia relationship, particularly in the context of the aforementioned crises. It endeavors to provide answers to questions such as: How is the economic downturn affecting Russia and the EU and how might it in turn affect their relations? Can the EU-Russia relationship soften the blow of the economic crisis? Is the proposal for a new security architecture a red herring? What factors are driving Russia’s European policy and the EU’s Russia policy? How did the Georgia conflict and gas row in Ukraine affect EU-Russia relations? What lessons should the EU draw from them? And how should both actors move forward?