Russia–European Union relations


Russia–European Union relations are the international relations between the European Union and Russia. Russia borders five EU member states: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland; the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is surrounded by EU members. Until the radical breakdown of relations following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU was Russia's largest trading partner and Russia had a significant role in the European energy sector. Due to the invasion, relations became very tense after the European Union imposed [|sanctions against Russia]. Russia placed all member states of the European Union on a list of "unfriendly countries", along with NATO members, Switzerland, Ukraine, and several Asia-Pacific countries.
The bilateral relations of individual EU member states and Russia vary, though a 1990s common foreign policy outline towards Russia was the first such EU foreign policy agreed. Furthermore, [|four 'EU–Russia Common Spaces'] were agreed as a framework for establishing better relations. In 2015, a European Parliament resolution stated that Russia was no longer a strategic partner with the EU following the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas.
Relations between Russia and the EU became increasingly strained since the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas, and the EU imposed several sanctions against the Russian Federation. The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022 has caused already tense EU–Russian diplomatic relations to break down: the EU sent military aid to Ukraine, Russian assets in the EU were frozen and direct flights from the EU to Russia were suspended. On 23 November 2022, the European Parliament passed a motion declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.

Background

This background is a snapshot of the way things were before the complete breakdown of bilateral relations in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The deterioration of relations is exemplified below in the [|Sanctions over Ukraine] section.

Trade

The EU was Russia's largest trading partner, accounting for 52.3% of all foreign Russian trade in 2008 and 75% of foreign direct investment stocks in Russia also come from the EU. The EU exported €105 billion of goods to Russia in 2008 and Russia exported €173.2 billion to the EU. 68.2% of Russian exports to the EU are accounted for by energy and fuel supplies. For details on other trade, see the table below:
Direction of tradeGoodsServicesFDITotal
EU to Russia€105 billion€18 billion€17 billion€140 billion
Russia to EU€173.2 billion€11.5 billion€1 billion€185.7 billion

Russia and the EU are both members of the World Trade Organisation. The EU and Russia are currently implementing the common spaces and negotiation to replace the current [|Partnership and Cooperation Agreement] to strengthen bilateral trade.

Energy

Russia has a significant role in the European energy sector. In 2007, the EU imported from Russia 185 million tonnes of crude oil, which accounted for 32.6% of total oil imports, and 100.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent of natural gas, which accounted for 38.7% of total gas imports. A number of disputes in which Russia was using pipeline shutdowns in what was described in 2006 as "tool for intimidation and blackmail" caused some in the EU by 2015 to notice that to source its energy from Russia was a problem, especially in the wake of the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
During an anti-trust investigation initiated in 2011 against Gazprom a number of internal company documents were seized that documented a number of "abusive practices" in an attempt to "segment the internal market along national borders" and impose "unfair pricing".
In August 2021 Russia has unexpectedly reduced volumes of gas sent to the EU, causing sudden gas price increases on the European market "to support its case in starting flows via Nord Stream 2". The next month, it announced that "rapid" start up of the newly completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline that has been for long contested by various EU countries would resolve the problems.
As of 2024, the number of Rosatom VVER nuclear power plants was 20. Two are located in Bulgaria, six in the Czech Republic, two in Finland, four in Hungary, and six in Slovakia. Worries over sanctions caused them as a group to double their imports of Russian nuclear fuel for 2023. Meanwhile, a Polish industry forum published a piece entitled: "Anatomy of Dependence: How to Eliminate Rosatom from Europe" and noticed that "Any increase in the price of uranium sourced by EU countries would have a negligible impact on the cost of electricity generation. It is estimated that a 50% increase in the price of uranium translates into about a 5% increase in the price of electricity." Overall, the fuel price paid to Russia by the EU inflated year-over-year by 34% and stood at an average of just under €1.2 million per ton in 2023.
Country20222023
Czech Republic90199
Slovakia80229
Hungary104103
Finland3720

Kaliningrad

The Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast has, since 2004, been surrounded on land by EU members. As a result, the oblast has been isolated from the rest of the federation due to stricter border controls that had to be brought in when Poland and Lithuania joined the EU and further tightened before they joined the Schengen Area. The new difficulties for Russians in Kaliningrad to reach the rest of Russia is a small source of tension.
In July 2011, the European Commission put forward proposals to classify the whole of Kaliningrad as a border area. This would allow Poland and Lithuania to issue special permits for Kaliningrad residents to pass through those two countries without requiring a Schengen visa. Between 2012 and 2016, visa-free travels were allowed between Kaliningrad region and northern Poland.
After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU banned Russian flights from EU airspace, leaving Kaliningrad inaccessible by direct flights to Russia. The invasion and the 2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis also led to delays of border crossing and trucking, damaging the import-dependent Kaliningrad economy. Since the invasion the Russian military presence in Kaliningrad has escalated, with Russia threatening to station nuclear weapons in the oblast in response to Sweden and Finland's membership bids to NATO.

Russian minorities in the EU

The OSCE mission monitoring the 2006 parliamentary elections in Latvia mentioned that
As reported by the European Commissioner for Human Rights 2007 report on Latvia, in 2006 there were 411,054 non-citizens, 66.5% of them belonging to Russian minority.
In 2017, there were 900,000 ethnic Russians in the Baltic States, having declined from 1.7 million in 1989, the year of the last census during the Soviet era.
Beginning in 2019, instruction in Russian language would be gradually discontinued in private colleges and universities in Latvia, as well as general instruction in Latvian public high schools, except for subjects related to culture and history of the Russian minority, such as Russian language and literature classes.

Russian and EU public opinion

A February 2014 poll conducted by the Levada Center, Russia's largest independent polling organization, found that nearly 80% of Russian respondents had a "good" impression of the EU. This changed dramatically in 2014 with the Russian annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas, resulting in 70% taking a hostile view of the EU compared to 20% viewing it positively.
A Levada poll released in August 2018 found that 68% of Russian respondents believe that Russia needs to dramatically improve relations with Western countries. 42% of Russians polled said they had a positive view of the EU, up from 28% in May 2018.
A Levada poll released in February 2020 found that 80% of Russian respondents believe that Russia and the West should become friends and partners. 49% of Russians polled said they had a positive view of the EU. However, with the exception of Bulgaria, Slovakia and Greece, the share of residents in the rest of the EU countries polled by Pew Research Center with positive views of Russia is considerably below 50%.

Framework initiatives

Several framework initiatives were attempted between Russia and the EU since the end of the Cold War until the complete breakdown of bilateral relations in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, after which the EU applied sanctions against Russia.

Soviet Union and its dissolution

The EEC–Soviet Union Cooperation Agreement was signed in Brussels on 18 December 1989 and came into force on 1 April 1990. In 1991, Russia became one of the successors to the Soviet Union in terms of international treaties and international relations and the sole continuator state.
The Declaration of the Twelve on the future status of Russia and other former Soviet Republics was published on 23 December 1991, according to which "The European Community and its Member States have noted with satisfaction the decision of the participants at the Alma Ata meeting on 21 December 1991 to establish a Commonwealth of Independent States. They note that the international rights and obligations of the former USSR, including those arising from the Charter of the United Nations, will continue to be exercised by Russia. They note with satisfaction the acceptance by the Russian Government of these commitments and responsibilities and will continue to deal with Russia on this basis, taking into account the change in its constitutional status. They are prepared to recognise the other Republics constituting the Community as soon as they receive assurances from those Republics that they are prepared to fulfil the requirements set out in the "Guidelines on the Recognition of New States in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union", adopted by Ministers on 16 December 1991. They expect, in particular, that those Republics will give them assurances that they will fulfil their international obligations arising from treaties and agreements concluded by the Soviet Union, including the ratification and implementation of the CFE Treaty by the Republics to which it applies, and that they will establish a single control over nuclear weapons and their non-proliferation."
Thus, the 1989 agreement with the Soviet Union and all other international agreements of the Soviet Union remained in force.