Negotiating with the Russian Bear: Lessons for the EU? College of Europe EU Diplomacy Paper 2009/8, November 2009

Harrison, Adam and Stantieru, Iana and Middleton, Elmar and Middleton, Chloe and Panczocha, Anna. (2009) Negotiating with the Russian Bear: Lessons for the EU? College of Europe EU Diplomacy Paper 2009/8, November 2009. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

Negotiations between the European Union and the Russian Federation are instrumental in forging fruitful and balanced cooperation between the two giants. However, the EU seems to run up against the same stone-walling as the United States did during the Cold War. Soviet negotiation style – perceiving bargaining as 'mobile warfare' – appears to be identical with the Russian mode of 'give and take', while EU negotiators tend to use less distributive and more integrative strategies and tactics. This collision does not make life easy. The EU is therefore well advised to try to change the context of the relationship whenever possible before entering substantial negotiations with the Russian Federation. Besides the introduction setting out Russian negotiation style in general, this EU Diplomacy Paper offers five case studies which illustrate this style in practice. They were written by students of the College of Europe’s EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies programme, Marcus Aurelius Promotion 2008-2009. Two cases deal with direct negotiations between Russia and the EU (Kaliningrad transit, new bilateral agreement), while two other contributions use negotiations in the field of energy to highlight Russian strategies and tactics (E.ON-Gazprom asset-swap, Shell and Sakhalin-II negotiations), and one essay analyses the Transnistrian conflict.

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