Brussels - European Union policymakers have long sought peace, stability and prosperity on the bloc's borders and backed the vision of an EU surrounded by well-governed and well-intentioned neighbours.
With Russia in anti-Western mood over a mix of issues, including missiles, energy and the status of Russian minorities in the Baltics - as well as continuing uncertainty over Moscow's stance on the final status of Kosovo - the EU's hopes of stability on its frontiers are fading fast.
The chaos on its borders is not only a test for EU foreign policy and a threat to European security; it is also a challenge to the unity of an increasingly diverse 27-nation bloc and its ability to speak with one voice on the global stage.
Relations with Russia, always a key priority for the energy-hungry EU, have climbed even further up the agenda following the bloc's 2004 enlargement to include ten new members, three of which (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) were part of the former Soviet Union and five others were former communist eastern European nations, closely allied with Moscow.
As a result of the expansion, five EU states (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland) have direct land borders with Russia. EU enlargement has also brought the bloc into direct contact with Ukraine and Belarus and closer to Moldova and the Caucasus.
As a result, the EU and Russia now share a common neighbourhood - although not a common vision on how to deal with political developments in these regions.
EU enlargement has in fact been followed by a spate of disputes between Brussels and Moscow.
Tensions between the EU and Russia came to the boil last year when Moscow briefly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, triggering energy shortages in many parts of Europe.
Angry EU policymakers loudly denounced the unilateral move as a sign that a more assertive Russia was using its vast energy resources - Moscow supplies 25 per cent of the EU's consumption of natural gas - as a political tool.
Relations became even more strained after Russia refused to sign an international energy charter which the EU says is vital to ensure western access to Moscow's vast energy market.
Adding to the current gloom, Russia is outraged at US plans to deploy part of its anti-missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, former satellites of Russia that are now members of the EU and of NATO.
For their part, European governments - acting within NATO - have warned Russia not to suspend its implementation of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which is designed to reduce the number of troops, tanks, aircraft and artillery pieces in what were Warsaw Pact and NATO countries.
In another sign of tensions, plans for a new EU-Russia partnership deal have been put on ice after Poland said Moscow must first lift its ban on imports of Polish meat.
And current crisis raging between Estonia and Russia over the removal of a memorial in Tallinn erected during Soviet times for Red Army soldiers who died in World War II, has put a question mark over plans to hold an EU-Russia summit in Samara on May 17-18.
In addition, the EU is also worried that Russia's opposition to recent United Nations proposals for internationally-supervised of Kosovo means that a final decision on the status of the breakaway Serb province could be delayed indefinitely.
The EU has so far kept up a united front in criticizing recent violent attacks in Moscow against the Estonian and Swedish envoys.
Diplomats say EU countries want the summit with Russia to go ahead so that issues relevant to the Estonia-Russia dispute can be raised. But EU officials admit that the bloc has yet to come up with a good strategy on dealing with the oil-rich, self-confident and more assertive Russia.
'There must be no self-defeating appeasement but no futile confrontation either,' said an EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The best route was one of 'constructive engagement' based on a realistic assessment of what could be achieved in EU-Russia relations.
Diplomats in Brussels warn that Moscow today has an excessive tendancy to 'politicize' and link different issues, making it a very difficult negotiating partner. 'Russia keeps testing our patience and unity,' said another EU official.
Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas makes some countries reluctant to ruffle President Vladimir Putin's feathers - for instance by raising human rights issues or the situation in Chechnya.
EU diplomats point out, however, that Moscow is equally dependent on EU markets and energy-sector investments.
Certainly Russia's get-tough mode is causing unease in the EU, said the diplomat. But there was a limit to how far Moscow could go, he said, adding: 'In today's globalized world, Russia will also have to learn to change its tone and conduct.'
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Unfortunately for the EU, however, today's European political reality is starkly different.
With Russia in anti-Western mood over a mix of issues, including missiles, energy and the status of Russian minorities in the Baltics - as well as continuing uncertainty over Moscow's stance on the final status of Kosovo - the EU's hopes of stability on its frontiers are fading fast.
The chaos on its borders is not only a test for EU foreign policy and a threat to European security; it is also a challenge to the unity of an increasingly diverse 27-nation bloc and its ability to speak with one voice on the global stage.
Relations with Russia, always a key priority for the energy-hungry EU, have climbed even further up the agenda following the bloc's 2004 enlargement to include ten new members, three of which (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) were part of the former Soviet Union and five others were former communist eastern European nations, closely allied with Moscow.
As a result of the expansion, five EU states (Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland) have direct land borders with Russia. EU enlargement has also brought the bloc into direct contact with Ukraine and Belarus and closer to Moldova and the Caucasus.
As a result, the EU and Russia now share a common neighbourhood - although not a common vision on how to deal with political developments in these regions.
EU enlargement has in fact been followed by a spate of disputes between Brussels and Moscow.
Tensions between the EU and Russia came to the boil last year when Moscow briefly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, triggering energy shortages in many parts of Europe.
Angry EU policymakers loudly denounced the unilateral move as a sign that a more assertive Russia was using its vast energy resources - Moscow supplies 25 per cent of the EU's consumption of natural gas - as a political tool.
Relations became even more strained after Russia refused to sign an international energy charter which the EU says is vital to ensure western access to Moscow's vast energy market.
Adding to the current gloom, Russia is outraged at US plans to deploy part of its anti-missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, former satellites of Russia that are now members of the EU and of NATO.
For their part, European governments - acting within NATO - have warned Russia not to suspend its implementation of the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, which is designed to reduce the number of troops, tanks, aircraft and artillery pieces in what were Warsaw Pact and NATO countries.
In another sign of tensions, plans for a new EU-Russia partnership deal have been put on ice after Poland said Moscow must first lift its ban on imports of Polish meat.
And current crisis raging between Estonia and Russia over the removal of a memorial in Tallinn erected during Soviet times for Red Army soldiers who died in World War II, has put a question mark over plans to hold an EU-Russia summit in Samara on May 17-18.
In addition, the EU is also worried that Russia's opposition to recent United Nations proposals for internationally-supervised of Kosovo means that a final decision on the status of the breakaway Serb province could be delayed indefinitely.
The EU has so far kept up a united front in criticizing recent violent attacks in Moscow against the Estonian and Swedish envoys.
Diplomats say EU countries want the summit with Russia to go ahead so that issues relevant to the Estonia-Russia dispute can be raised. But EU officials admit that the bloc has yet to come up with a good strategy on dealing with the oil-rich, self-confident and more assertive Russia.
'There must be no self-defeating appeasement but no futile confrontation either,' said an EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The best route was one of 'constructive engagement' based on a realistic assessment of what could be achieved in EU-Russia relations.
Diplomats in Brussels warn that Moscow today has an excessive tendancy to 'politicize' and link different issues, making it a very difficult negotiating partner. 'Russia keeps testing our patience and unity,' said another EU official.
Europe's dependence on Russian natural gas makes some countries reluctant to ruffle President Vladimir Putin's feathers - for instance by raising human rights issues or the situation in Chechnya.
EU diplomats point out, however, that Moscow is equally dependent on EU markets and energy-sector investments.
Certainly Russia's get-tough mode is causing unease in the EU, said the diplomat. But there was a limit to how far Moscow could go, he said, adding: 'In today's globalized world, Russia will also have to learn to change its tone and conduct.'
read more | digg story
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