The current crisis in Ukraine and Russia\u2019s move to annex Crimea have raised new questions about the adequacy of the EU\u2019s eastern policy and how it can interface with increasingly tense relations with Russia.\u00a0 The current Ukrainian crisis emerged\u00a0 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\u2019s eastern policy in the current crisis, but also about the very architecture of the EU\u2019s relations with its eastern neighbours, including Russia.<\/p>\n
Initiated in May 2009, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) has been the EU\u2019s key initiative to develop closer relations with its eastern neighbours (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine).\u00a0 At the same time that the Ukrainian crisis broke out, two of the EU\u2019s other eastern neighbours (Moldova and Georgia) initialed Association Agreements with the EU in November 2013, presenting them with new opportunities and challenges. \u00a0Against the backdrop of the current situation in Ukraine, this workshop will explore the future of the EU\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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). \u00a0The Jean Monnet Chair is supported by the EU\u2019s Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission\u2019s Directorate-General for Education and Culture<\/i>. \u00a0<\/i>The contents of this\u00a0document are the sole responsibility of <\/i>the organizer of the event and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.<\/i><\/p>\n