The Future of the EU’s Eastern Partnership: Russia as an Informal Veto Player
The Future of the EU’s Eastern Partnership: Russia as an Informal Veto Player

Summary/Abstract: ‘Reordering the order’ of European security architecture best describes Russian intentions in the post-Soviet space, which have been highlighted during the crisis in Ukraine. The Eastern partners stand in the crossfire of this geopolitical rivalry, between two rival integration areas: the European Union and the newly formed Eurasian Union. However, it is worth asking whether both of these integration areas are playing in this geopolitical game. Five years of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) have produced only limited progress in EaP countries and the main incentive for transformation – the possibility of membership – is still not evident. Furthermore, some EU countries still search for a form of ‘engagement’ with Russia, while others are bargaining for a stricter policy of ‘containment’. Hence, Russia is moving towards becoming an informal ‘veto’ player in EU-EaP relations, in that it may be able to control the geopolitical path of the countries in the ‘shared neighbourhood’.

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