PANEL DISCUSSION ON THE STRATEGIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EU AND RUSSIA

The Hanns Seidel Foundation is organizing a Panel Discussion in Brussels on 25 April on 'The Strategic Relations between the EU and Russia' with the participation of Dr. Angelika Schlunk (Director of the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union), Mr. Christian Forstner (Director of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Brussels), Mr. Konstantin Kosachev (Chairman of the Federal Agency for the Relations with the CIS States, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma 2003-2011), Mr. Gunnar Wiegand (Director, Russia, Central Asia, Eastern Partnership, Regional Cooperation and OSCE, European External Action Service, Brussels), Dr. Susan Stewart (German Institute for International and Security Affairs,  SWP, Brlin) and Mr. Alojz Peterle, MEP (Vice-Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Commmittee).

It is mainstream belief in Western policy that security in Europe can only be achieved by working together with- and not against-Russia. Ethnic conflicts, energy security, nuclear proliferation, international terrorism, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran- the list of common threats is long. The strategic partnership between the EU and Russia is an ambitious aim, but doubts-concerning domestic developments in Russia as well as Russia's regional and global power politics- remain. Russia is and will remain a factor of power in Europe, the interrelations in the energy and trade sector reflect the interdependency of Europe and Russia. Historic and cultural ties do not necessarily result in a common set of values, negotiations on the new EU-Russia agreement are not proceeding. Domestic stability and consolidation of Russian influence in the CIS region will be the main objectives of the next years' Kremlin policy. Russia's protest against the intrusion of external powers in Eastern Europe is often seen as neo-Russian imperialism and anti-Western ideology. The 2008 Georgia War illustrates how quickly cold conflicts can turn into wars. 

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