Post-Crimea shift in EU-Russia relations: from fostering interdependence to managing vulnerabilities

The book “Post-Crimea shift in EU-Russia relations” is the result of a research project and a set of views and opinions presented by experts of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute. The idea to review the nature and degree of interdependence between the EU and Russia, now that more than five years have passed since the outbreak of the conflict over Ukraine, took shape in numerous discussions with researchers and practitioners from various EU member states and Russia.

“Post-Crimea shift” characterizes relations between the EU and Russia by a considerable degree of interdependence.

Despite mounting tensions in recent years, both sides continue to depend on each other in a number of fields, including energy, trade, finance, technology, cross-border cooperation and, perhaps most importantly, security.

Analyzing today’s relationship, the authors of the book urge us to recognize that the expected positive effects of interdependence have not materialized. Since the outbreak of the conflict over Ukraine in 2014, the rise of geopolitical competition between Russia and the West has pushed Europeans to reassess their approach.

This report aims to map EU-Russia interdependences and, in some issues, one-sided dependences in difference sectors, and analyse the related perceptions and approaches on both sides.

Source: https://icds.ee/wptent/uploads/2019/05/EURUS_book_EVI_May_2019-web.pdf#page=45