ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the development of the EU–Russian political dialogue through the historical-problematic approach, which allows for a consideration of the substantive parameters and institutionalisation of the partnership at different stages. The chapter first examines the initial intentions of the partners and the European security dilemma of Russia’s non-inclusion, as well as the latent political crisis of the ‘Common Spaces’ agreements. The chapter then argues that a strategic partnership model based on the normative rapprochement of Russia to the EU failed following the 2008 war in Georgia and attempts to find a ‘reset’ alternative on the basis of a pragmatic results-orientated cooperation did not allow the parties to overcome some fundamental dilemmas and imbalances in the relations. The result was the 2014 Ukrainian crisis, which the EU conceptualises as Russian revisionism. It remains open whether it is ‘the end of the history of strategic partnership’, which will lead to a long-term degradation of EU–Russia relations, or whether there are still opportunities to increase EU–Russian cooperation on the basis of the Greater Europe philosophy and reconciliatory strategies.
