ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the institutional links that anchor the European Union (EU)- Russia relationship, followed by an exploration of the co-operation established by the two sides in the areas of trade, energy, the environment, external and internal security. It concludes with a discussion of the role of the dynamic environment within which the relationship is unfolding. The relationship between the EU and the Russian Federation is the outcome of a dynamic process of interaction involving the complex interplay of conflicting worldviews, complementary and divergent interests, and shared security concerns. Enlargement has brought the Union to Russia's borders and consequently has magnified the urgency of environmental security for the EU. From the Russian perspective, the EU view on Chechnya represents an unacceptable intrusion into Russia's internal affairs. Farther away from the post-Soviet space, the EU-Russia nexus is stronger. The EU's interlocutor, Russia, is a country in the throes of a comprehensive socio-political-economic transformation.
