The European Union and Russia: Past, Present, and Future of a Difficult Relationship
By: Dea Lubis
Tags: International Relations, European Union, Russia, Nato, Gorbachev

As the time passes, political map of Europe has changed. It is caused by several events such as the fall of the USSR, the dissolution of the Eastern block, as well as the enlargement of the European Union. Aside from the map change, Russia has become a place surrounded by EU member states and it has issues of concern with all of those countries. European construction process having some difficulty because of the Soviet political rulers neither like the changes nor the European confederation since the beginning.

After the World War II has ended and the European Economic Community (EEC) has been established, the Soviets continue to reject the European integration process. It was proven when Moscow submitted a proposal stating that the EEC could be a threat for the world’s peace and stability. Not only that, the Soviet also made propaganda through articles that criticize the process of European integration. Over time, Mikhail Gorbachev brought change to the Soviets when the “New Thinking”, a new approach to international relations which is made by him appeared in the 1980s. Three practical ideas emerged from this new approach: peaceful coexistence had to be cooperative, true security had to be mutual, and the USSR and the United States had to promote the concept of “reasonable sufficiency” in their strategic thinking (Rey “From Fulton to Malta”, 2008). Gorbachev also has an idea, it’s called “Common European Home”. He thought that his idea could ensure the security of the continent and help to reform the USSR and its satellites. However, the Soviet leadership hated Gorbachev’s concept of a “Common European Home”.

In 1991, the Soviet Union has collapsed. Relations between Russia and the West had slowly improved since then. The West became a friend and role model for Russia. In 1994, Russia signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and this marks the EU and Russia as strategic partners. The EU and Russia strengthen their relationship and conduct economic cooperation through the PCA. Although this agreement can improve relations between the EU and Russia but unfortunately the PCA couldn’t give assurances that their relationship wouldn’t have problems. By the late 1990s, the relationship between Russia and the West has been getting progressively worse. The Washington Declaration is one of the factors that has worsened their relationship. The Declaration makes Russia into a dilemma. Russia considers that the EU enlargement is better than NATO enlargement that threatens the security of Russia.

The situation raises the debate thus appeared two theses. First, the establishment of a stronger EU will give economic and political benefits for Russia. Economically, the border with the EU will reduce transaction costs and expanding Russian market. Secondly, the integration of European countries into the EU could be a danger for Russia because it would cause borders and geographical problems. In addition, the EU will be ruled by members who have anti-Russian feelings and sentiment, which should concern Russia. Moreover, the problem of Kaliningrad also raises tensions between Russia and the EU. Solutions have been given but Russia seems not fully satisfied and wished for more advantages. Russia does not consider the West as an ally but as their enemy and competitor which makes Russia reluctant for extension of the PCA.

Many of the EU member states want the EU to approach Russia consistently so that Russia understands that he is not only related to some EU member states such as Germany and France, but with all the member states. There are a lot of situation that makes it difficult for Russia and other European countries to cooperate, causing tension between the two. Lots of actions have been done to boost cooperation between Russia and the EU. For example, the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and top EU officials began to talk about a new strategic partnership agreement in 2008. However, the relationship between the two wasn’t getting any better.

Two important events took place. The first is when the G-8 Summit. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, declared that Russia would be forced to respond militarily if the United States went forward with constructing the system in the Czech Republic (Bindi, 2012). The second was when Russia invaded Georgia and several Russian peacekeepers were killed. The Georgian conflict make the EU divided. To overcome this, the EU governments are trying to accelerate the integration of the countries between the EU and Russia into the European Union. The situation became uncertain when several countries avoid Russia because they think that Russia wants to control its neighbors. Russia is not a rogue state; it wants to be an accepted member of the international community, and it wants the EU and NATO to treat it as a privileged partner (pp. 128). The EU has been trying to influence Russia and improve their relations ever since.

Reference :

Bindi, F. (2012). The Foreign Policy of the European Union: Assessing Europe’s Role in the World, The Brookings Institution: Washington, D.C., Ch. 7.