Knott, E. (2014) “Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine’s signing of EU co-operation agreements marks their transition from ‘post-Soviet’ to ‘European’ states“, LSE EUROPP, 30 June.
On 27 June, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine signed co-operation agreements with the EU. Ellie Knott assesses what the agreements mean for each state and how they might influence future EU-Russia relations. She writes that while the agreements are largely technical in nature, their real value is symbolic as they represent a final break from each country’s Soviet past. She argues that with tensions already high over the Ukraine crisis, the agreements will also have a significant impact on the wider relationship between the EU and Russia.
Since the Vilnius summit in November 2013, relations between the key Eastern Partnership states (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia), the EU and Russia have shifted inextricably. The EU has sped up its signing of Association Agreements (AA) and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA) with Georgia and Moldova, and held on to its commitment to sign these agreements with Ukraine, with the official signing of these agreements with all three states taking place on 27 June.
Meanwhile, Russia’s willingness to challenge Ukraine’s territorial integrity, by seizing Crimea, its tenuous relations with separatists movements in Donetsk and Lugansk and its cessation of gas exports to Ukraine, have drastically changed not just the configuration of the Ukrainian state and society, but have been one of the biggest earthquakes for relations between Russia and the wider post-Soviet region.
Relevant posts:
- Watt, A. (2014) “Europe’s Underappreciated Success: 10 Years Of Post-Enlargement Convergence“, Social Europe Journal, 05 May.
- Hobolt, S. B. (2014) “Ever closer or ever wider? Public attitudes towards further enlargement and integration in the European Union“, Routledge Publications, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 664-680, 28 April.
- Zahn, Rebecca, (2013) “European enlargement and the economic crisis: impact and lasting effects“, European Trade Union Institute, Working Paper 2013.1.