The reflections of the war in Ukraine on EU-Russia relations and the Eastern Partnership’s dynamics
Russia’s attack on Ukraine at the end of February 2022, which escalated into the Russian-Ukrainian war, led to significant changes in contemporary international relations. This article explores how the war changed the European Union and Russia’s relationship and affected the Eastern Partnership’...
| Κύριος συγγραφέας: | |
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| Μορφή: | Άρθρο |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Έκδοση: |
Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade
2023-08-01
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| Σειρά: | Međunarodna politika |
| Θέματα: | |
| Διαθέσιμο Online: | https://medjunarodnapolitika.rs/wp-content/uploads/MO/2023/1188/MO-2023-1188-article-6.pdf |
| Περίληψη: | Russia’s attack on Ukraine at the end of February 2022, which escalated into
the Russian-Ukrainian war, led to significant changes in contemporary
international relations. This article explores how the war changed the
European Union and Russia’s relationship and affected the Eastern
Partnership’s dynamics. The goal is to contribute to the ongoing dialogues
about the complexity of the conflict and its profound implications for
regional security and stability through the afore-mentioned aspects of the
analysis. The main findings indicate that the events in Ukraine triggered in
2014 created a more complex security environment, significantly changing
the previous dynamics of EU-Russia relations and increasing tensions.
Tension culminated after Vladimir Putin’s bold proposals from December
2021, presented as a kind of ultimatum that should have ensured Russia a
fair place in the new European security architecture, were left without a
response from the West. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, in an effort to
achieve security and broader European stability, there was a need for a
redesign and change of focus in the European security architecture.
However, not in the way that Russia demanded. Furthermore, the Ukraine
crisis and Russia’s subsequent attack on the country have raised concerns
among the EU’s eastern neighbours about their security and sovereignty.
That is why, despite the challenges of implementing political and economic
reforms, these countries received increased support from the EU through the
Eastern Partnership. Moreover, although the previous forms of cooperation
did not provide a possibility for the membership of these countries in the
EU, Ukraine and Moldova also received the status of membership
candidates. The war in Ukraine also highlighted the limits of the EU’s
normative power, underscoring the importance of hard power, further
enhancing defence cooperation at the EU level, and cooperation with NATO
as a collective defence mechanism. Thus, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has
had a profound and lasting impact on the security dynamics of Europe,
reshaping the interactions of key regional actors.
Russia-Ukraine war, EU-Russia relations, Eastern Partnership |
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| ISSN: | 0543-3657 2787-0618 |