Κείμενα της ΕΕ

Five principles guiding the EU's policy towards Russia

On 14 March 2016, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union "unanimously agreed on five principles guiding the EU's policy towards Russia:

• Implementation of the Minsk agreement as the key condition for any substantial change in the EU's stance towards Russia.
• Strengthened relations with the EU's Eastern Partners and other neighbours, in particular in Central Asia.
• Strengthening the resilience of the EU (for example energy security, hybrid threats, or strategic communication).
• Need for selective engagement with Russia on issues of interest to the EU.
• Need to engage in people-to-people contacts and support Russian civil society."

EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement

The "Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation establishing a partnership between the European Communities and their Member States, of one part, and the Russian Federation, of the other part" was signed in June 1994 and came into force in 1997, initially for 10 years. Since 2007 it has been renewed annually.

The Agreement established a political framework for regular consultation between the EU and Russia, including through a Parliamentary Cooperation Committee consisting of MEPs and members of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement is complemented by sectorial agreements covering policy areas including political dialogue, trade, science and technology, education, energy and environment, transport, and prevention of illegal activities.

The treaty was supposed to be upgraded through the negotiation of a New EU-Russia Agreement, providing a comprehensive framework for bilateral relations. The new agreement was to build on WTO rules and include stable and balanced rules for bilateral trade and investment relations. Negotiations started in 2008, but they were stopped in 2010 because no progress could be made in the trade and investment discussions. In 2014, against the background of the crisis in Ukraine, negotiations were formally suspended.

Today with the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union between Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, and with Russia's difficulties in fulfilling its WTO commitments, it is not clear how further progresses can be achieved in the area of trade and investment, and what could be done to advance a new agreement.