ABSTRACT
The EU-Russian relationship is often referred to as a ‘strategic partnership’, both by the parties in question and by outside observers, Such a label suggest that the parties are important not only to each other but also in a broader context, impacting on other actors as well providing an indication of great power status. It is no exaggeration, then, to expect that the EU-Russian interaction to a significant degree determines the security order in Europe. The aim of this chapter is to establish more precisely how, by revealing the nature of the interface of this so-called strategic partnership. The EU-Russian relationship cannot be analysed in isolation from the Cold War legacies that for long have framed the security-political landscape in Europe, not least in the North. As remarked by Alexander Sergounin regarding the post-Cold War era, the ‘general trend was from phobia and confrontation to damage limitation and cooperation’ (Sergounin 2003). It has to be added against the background of the developments of the last few years that in some regards, the process has reversed, or at least stalled. Not least in the Baltic Sea setting is this issue pertinent – hence the labelling of the interface – where the demarcation between East and West was most obvious during the Cold War, where Russia borders on the EU, and where important processes of cooperation but also confrontation take place. The EU-Russian interface is a complex one, since the post-Cold War period holds significant processes of transformation, both in terms of Russian economic and political transition and EU enlargement and deepening of integration. Moreover, both Russia and the EU display reorientation in foreign and security policy. Hence, a perspective of change is necessary. To limit the analysis, focus is on developments in the last decade, roughly. The chapter proceeds as follows. As a background note, the next section highlights the main developments in terms of the formal aspects of the EU-Russian relations. Thereafter, three key policy areas are analysed – EU enlargement, the political economy of energy, and the crisis in Georgia. After this follows analyses of the two sides’ recognition of each other, after which conclusions regarding the EU-Russian interface end the chapter.
