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The highly optimistic expectations of a future partnership EU-Russia of the early 1990s have fallen short. The relations between the European Union and Russia are, nevertheless, among the most active maintained by these two partners at international level. So how can their partnership be constructively shaped at a time when their interests are converging but their values are increasingly diverging?
Dr Timmermann, external research fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), addresses this issue in the SEF POLICY PAPER 22. He comments on the expectations and conflicts of interests on both sides, on the dilemma of the debate about values, and on the advantages of functional cooperation. Dr Timmermann also warns against the danger of an integration conflict over the “geopolitical buffer zone” between Russia and the EU – over Russia’s “near abroad” and the EU’s “new neighbours”. Despite this and other imponderables, the author argues that Russia’s involvement in pan-European cooperation processes is indispensable.
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