Past Event

The current crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s move to annex Crimea have raised new questions about the adequacy of the EU’s eastern policy and how it can interface with increasingly tense relations with Russia.  The current Ukrainian crisis emerged  following the decision by former Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovych to step back from signing an Association Agreement with the EU late last year, which elicited protests against the decision in Ukraine, leading to the removal of Yanukovych, installation of a new pro-Western interim government in Ukraine, and the subsequent Russian takeover of Crimea. These events have raised new questions not only about the role of the EU’s eastern policy in the current crisis, but also about the very architecture of the EU’s relations with its eastern neighbours, including Russia.

Initiated in May 2009, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) has been the EU’s key initiative to develop closer relations with its eastern neighbours (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine).  At the same time that the Ukrainian crisis broke out, two of the EU’s other eastern neighbours (Moldova and Georgia) initialed Association Agreements with the EU in November 2013, presenting them with new opportunities and challenges.  Against the backdrop of the current situation in Ukraine, this workshop will explore the future of the EU’s policy in its eastern neighbourhood, its impact on relations with Russia, reactions to the Crimean crisis, and adjustments the EU might make to promote the long-term objective of stability and peace in Europe.

This event is sponsored by The Jean Monnet Chair at Carleton University, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, and the Canada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue, which receives support from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).  The Jean Monnet Chair is supported by the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture.  The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the organizer of the event and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

The program for this event can be found here.

Moldova’s EU Association Agreement and the Crisis in Ukraine – Interview with Stanislav Secrieru

The EU’s Eastern Partnership in Ukraine and Beyond – Interview with Richard Tibbels

EU-Russian Relations in the Context of the Ukraine Crisis – Interview with Susan Stewart