This monography presents the potential and opportunities of cross-border cooperation between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. The analyses were prepared by an international team of authors from Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Armenia and Georgia, within the framework of the project “EU – European Neighbourhood – Russia: Cross-Border Cooperation in the Framework of Regional Policy”, financed by Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission as part of its regional policy dialogues with non-EU countries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union expectations were high that a 'new world order' was emerging in which Russia and the other former Soviet republics would join the Western community of nations. That has not occurred. This volume explains the reasons for this failure and assesses likely future developments in that relationship
The EU continuously searches for more effective policy tools towards its eastern neighbours. In order to understand the complexity and limitations of EU policies in the eastern region, this volume adopts an original analytical perspective of social practices to comprehensively unravel the interface between policy instruments, multiple age
This unique book, representing the main output of the Jean Monnet Multilateral Research Project granted by the European Commission, is dedicated to the legal and political dimension of the European Union policy towards its Eastern neighbours, namely Ukraine, Belarus, Moldavia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. The Eastern Partnership clearly occupies a privileged position in the EU’s external relations and constitutes an important “Eastern axis” of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The book examines relevant material from a broad perspective, and attention is paid to the in-depth analysis of Eastern Partnership Agreements and the new Association agreements, examining their place in the External Relations Law of the EU and the legal mechanisms of their operation. In this respect, comparisons with the previous Association agreements with the states of the Central Europe are also made here. A great part of the book is also dedicated to an analysis of the issues of human rights, the rule of law, and legal approximation as a key element of the acceptation of duties of the association countries. Recent political unrest in Ukraine in connection with the delay of the signature of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement has also shown that this contract instrument is considered to be a key indicator in geopolitical terms, as a concrete expression and powerful symbol of the future orientation of this Partnership state and its willingness to share common European values. This volume’s analysis of this document enables a better understanding of the reasons for, and the core of, this development. The diversity of contributors to this book allows a multi-perspectival analysis, incorporating views from old and new EU Member States, as well as Partnership states, and reflects the recent experiences of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Estonia with regards to the implementation of the Association Agreements. The volume is also opened by the preface of the Commissioner for the Enlargement, Eastern Partnership and the Association, Stefan Füle, and reflects his experience in these matters.
The 2004 and 2007 enlargements pushed the EU's external border further east as well as closer to unstable areas in the western Balkans. With future enlargements unlikely in the short-term, the EU faces new challenges in securing stable relationships with these neighbouring countries, while not fostering false hopes of early accession.
The year 2017 has been an uneasy one for the EU, with so-called Brexit on the horizon and the rise of populist euroskepticism in a number of Member States. This year, with the tenth anniversary of the Romanian and Bulgarian accession to the Union, is a good year to pause and reflect over the life and future of the Union. In this work, we envision the next decade with Europe 2020 strategy and review the fruits of the 2004 accession in Central and Eastern Europe. What has the Union achieved? Which policy areas are likely to change and how? How successful, and by what measure, has the accession of the 10 Member States in 2004 been? Reviewing European Union Accession addresses a wide range of issues, deliberately without any thematic constraints, in order to explore EU enlargement from a variety of perspectives, both scientific and geographical, internal and external. In contrast to the major works in this field, we highlight the interrelated, and often unexpected, nature of the integration process – hence the subtitle, unexpected results, spillover effects and externalities.
In the contemporary policy debate on the EU's neighborhood, grand designs are transforming into more pragmatic considerations. This book examines regional cooperation among the countries of northern Europe, emphasizing the pitfalls and successes of engaging Russia. Drawing from the experiences of northern partnerships, the authors assess prospects for collaborating on energy, transportation, the environment, and public health. They conclude that practical regional cooperation with Russia can prove highly relevant not only for developing the EU's northern policy but also for working with Russia in general.
International Academic Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities in Prague 2015 (NY'sAC-SSaH 2015 in Prague), Wednesday - Thursday, December 30 - 31, 2015
The Routledge Handbook of EU-Russia Relations offers a comprehensive overview of the changing dynamics in relations between the EU and Russia provided by leading experts in the field. Coherently organised into seven parts, the book provides a structure through which EU-Russia relations can be studied in a comprehensive yet manageable fashion. It provides readers with the tools to deliver critical analysis of this sometimes volatile and polarising relationship, so new events and facts can be conceptualised in an objective and critical manner. Informed by high-quality academic research and key bilateral data/statistics, it further brings scope, balance and depth, with chapters contributed by a range of experts from the EU, Russia and beyond. Chapters deal with a wide range of policy areas and issues that are highly topical and fundamental to understanding the continuing development of EU-Russia relations, such as political and security relations, economic relations, social relations and regional and global governance. The Routledge Handbook of EU-Russia Relations aims to promote dialogue between the different research agendas in EU-Russia relations, as well as between Russian and Western scholars and, hopefully, also between civil societies. As such, it will be an essential reference for scholars, students, researchers, policymakers and journalists interested and working in the fields of Russian politics/studies, EU studies/politics, European politics/studies, post-Communist/post-Soviet politics and international relations. The Routledge Handbook of EU-Russia Relations is part of a mini-series Europe in the World Handbooks examining EU-regional relations established by Professor Wei Shen.
This book examines EU Eastern Partnership taking into account geopolitical challenges of EU integration. It highlights reasons for limited success, such as systematic conflict of EU External Action. In addition, the book analyses country-specific issues and discusses EaP influence on them, investigating political, economic and social factors, while seeking for potential solutions to existing problems. The reluctance of the Eastern countries to the European reforms should not reduce political pro-activeness of the EU. The authors suggest that EaP strategies should be reviewed to be more reciprocal and not based solely on the EU-laden agenda. This book is one of the good examples of cooperation between scholars not only from EaP and EU countries, but also from different disciplines, bringing diversity to the discussion process.
