EU'S ENGAGEMENT IN THE EASTERN NEIGHBOURHOOD AMIDST INCREASED GEOPOLITICAL COMPETITION
EU'S ENGAGEMENT IN THE EASTERN NEIGHBOURHOOD AMIDST INCREASED GEOPOLITICAL COMPETITION

Summary/Abstract: This paper looked into how the Chinese presence in the EaP area is affecting the strategic calculus of the EU and the EaP countries. The eastern neighborhood is at the crossroads of a possible new configuration, where the EaP countries have found themselves increasingly at the intersection of the interests of competing great powers that have changed the international environment. The ongoing conflict between an increasingly assertive and aggressive Russia and the West and increasing interests and financial investment from China as it implements its Belt and Road Initiative have put pressures on the EaP states. This raises the question regarding the possibility of cooperation between Russia and China in the region and how feasible that is. On the other hand, the EU is facing its own challenges regarding its relationship with the Chinese state in an increasingly adverse international environment. While the EU needs a functioning security system on its eastern border while maintaining functioning relations with competing powers, China's geopolitical status is rapidly changing. This is becoming particularly relevant today because Covid-19 has accelerated the US-China strategic rivalry and the prospect of new sanctions hangs over China. Beijing's growing influence in Eurasia has the potential to create new geo-economic divides, requiring the EU to reassess its focus on the EaP area.

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