Various recent events (particularly the Russian intervention in Georgia in August 2008) suggest that Russia is currently repositioning itself on the international scene, displaying power ambitions toward the former republics of the Soviet Union and “nearby foreign states.” If this were to be confirmed, the situation would smack somewhat of a Cold War, with the European Union in the front line. How exactly do matters stand here? In this article, Jean-François Drevet shows what Russia’s aims are, what weapons it has available to it (mainly in the energy field) and how the European Union (which today includes former satellite states of the USSR) is reacting in this new context. He is none too optimistic about the improvement of Russo-European relations and stresses the (urgent) need to develop common European policies (particularly on energy) to resist possible future pressure and continue to support democratic advance in Eastern Europe.
Russia and Europe
This article is published in Futuribles journal ,
