Modernisation in EU–Russian relations: Past, present, and future

European Politics and Society. 2015. Vol. 16. No. 1. P. 1–10.

Romanova T. A., David M.

The purpose of this editorial is to set the context for the special issue on modernisation in European Union (EU)–Russian relations. It therefore first locates the Partnership for Modernisation in the context of EU–Russian relations, identifying its place vis-à-vis the 1994 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, 2005 Common Spaces and negotiations on a new EU– Russian agreement. The article then addresses the current context of these relations, which has been steadily deteriorating since the beginning of 2014 due to events in Ukraine. Third, the editorial identifies the importance of modernisation for Russia and describes how the processes of this millennium are different from Russia’s previous attempts to modernise. Finally, the article explains why modernisation is still relevant for EU–Russian relations despite the current state of relations between Moscow and Brussels and introduces the contributions to this special issue. © 2015 Taylor & Francis.

Keywords: модернизация, Европейский Союз, Россия, Russia, EU, внешняя политика России, modernisation, Russia's foreign policy, Партнерство для модернизации ЕС-Россия, Отношения России и ЕС, EU–Russian relations, Partnership for modernization