UNEXPECTED METAMORPHOSIS: EU EMBARKS ON AN AMBITIOUS POLICY IN ITS EASTERN NEIGHBOURHOOD
UNEXPECTED METAMORPHOSIS: EU EMBARKS ON AN AMBITIOUS POLICY IN ITS EASTERN NEIGHBOURHOOD

Author(s): Elżbieta Kaca, Aleksandra KOZIOŁ
Subject(s): Politics, Economic policy, International relations/trade, Security and defense, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
Published by: PISM Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych
Keywords: EU; policy; East;
Summary/Abstract: For many years, the EU’s policy towards its eastern neighbourhood lacked transformative potential. The main reason for this was the absence of an ambitious offer for the region, including the prospect of membership or support in military field. Deep divergences in the EU Member States’ perception of Eastern policy lay behind it. Many of them held the policy that, to maintain stability in Europe, Russia should be involved in cooperation at the political and economic levels while the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of neighbouring countries should be tempered. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was a breakthrough in the EU’s Eastern policy. The new approach manifests itself in the withdrawal from cooperation with Russia in key sectors and the imposition of unprecedented sanctions aimed at maximising its costs of waging war, military support for Ukraine, as well as giving EU accession prospects for countries such as Moldova and Ukraine. In light of the criminal nature of the Russian aggression, the EU’s activity in the East will be a key element of its foreign policy for years to come.

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