CIAO DATE: 12/2009
September 2009
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Development of the relations between the Russian Federation and the European Union during 2007-2009. Effective choices and mistakes.
The relations between Russia and the EU countries have undergone an important distancing last years; even though, it is since 2007 when the bilateral ties reached the lowest level in the last two decades. Both the Russian and the European governments, still maintain different interests and priorities on international order affairs and have opposite postures in the way they must tackle many of the current regional and global problems. In addition, the energetic pressures and the bilateral negotiations with every European country represent strategies which Russia maintains toward Europe and have brought positive results. Nevertheless, the containment policy carried out toward Russia has prompted the beginning of the Russian rearmament. Both parts have a clear relation of dependence between themselves, and the current conditions might be adequate to change their situation of tension and prevailing mistrust. The major mistake of Europe toward Russia has been not considering a place for this Slavonic country inside the regional and international order, after the end of the Cold War.
Resource link: El desenvolvimiento de las relaciones de la Federación Rusa con la Unión Europea entre los años 2007 y 2009. Sus aciertos y desaciertos [PDF] - 334K