RUSSIA AND THE EU: NOT TOGETHER BUT ALONGSIDE
The relations between Russia and the European Union have reached an all-time low since the modern-day EU came into existence. The frustration that has accumulated over a number of years, surfaced during the Ukraine crisis. As a result, the old model has run out of steam, and the return to a “strategic partnership” that characterized relations during the 1990s and 2000s is no longer possible, and the idea of a “common future” is no longer on the agenda. Nevertheless, a high degree of interdependence remains, and there is a desire to preserve and strengthen economic, cultural and human ties, while it remains necessary to collaborate in response to common challenges. The crisis will pass sooner or later, but what will be the shape of the new model of relations – equitable, pragmatic, based on mutual respect – yet recognizing differences? And what place will Russia and the EU occupy in the new global architecture of the world, which is becoming increasingly fragmented, unpredictable, less unified and less “European”, yet still interdependent?
Moderator:
Evelina Zakamskaya ,
Anchor, Russia 24; Editor-in-Chief, Doctor Channel
Panellists
Andrei Bystritsky ,
Chairman of the Board, Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club
Arnaud Dubien ,
Director of the Observatoire, Analytical Centre of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce
Alexey Likhachev ,
Chief Executive Officer, ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation
Fyodor Lukyanov ,
Research Director, Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club
Alexander Rahr ,
Program Director, Berthold Beitz Center for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Central Asia, German Council on Foreign Relations
Vladimir Chizhov ,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the EU
