Anita Sęk
In-between the Russian Federation and the European Union: Is There a ‘European Choice’ for Ukraine? [View PDF]
ABSTRACT
The objective of this working paper is to assess the EU-Ukraine political relations in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EaP), and against the vicinity of the Russian Federation. The author aims to reveal to what extent the so called ‘European choice’ has constituted a basis for the foreign policy of Ukraine and how it has been conditioned by the presence of both the European Union and the Russian Federation. The analysis is accompanied by opinions of the officials from both the Mission of Ukraine to the European Union and the European External Action Service (EEAS), revealed during the interviews that the author conducted in Brussels during the spring of 2012.2 Last but not least, this paper attempts to provide explanations for events surrounding the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013 and the subsequent ‘Ukrainian crises.
Keywords: Ukraine, Russia, EU, EasternPartnership, multi-vector policy, Russian factor, Association Agreement, DCFTA