Between Perceptions and Threats — The Fraught EU-Russia Relationship. EUMA Papers, Vol. 5, No. 3 January 2008

Larive, Maxime. (2008) Between Perceptions and Threats — The Fraught EU-Russia Relationship. EUMA Papers, Vol. 5, No. 3 January 2008.

Abstract

[From the introduction]. Even while the energy market is a real dilemma, the EU-Russia relationship is ‘special’ due to a wide number of issues that they share (political, economical, diplomatic, military and so on), and their search for common agreements. In the middle of these tensions, it seems that the major issue comes from a lack of communication between both parties. Many questions need to be raised, such as: how does the EU perceive Russia and vice-versa? What kind of policies should the EU use to promote peace and democracy in Eastern Europe? Is Russia representing any sort of threat to the evolution of the EU? In order to answer to these questions, this paper will first identify the perceptions of each actor toward the other. Second, the connections between the EU and Russia will be discussed. Third, the threats posed to one another will be identified.