| Author (Person) | Bond, Ian |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Centre for European Reform (CER) |
| Series Title | Policy Brief |
| Series Details | April 2014 |
| Publication Date | 16/04/2014 |
| Content Type | Journal | Series | Blog |
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Russia is challenging the EU’s values and interests, above all in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. The Union has struggled to forge a unified response to Russia, but the invasion of Crimea and Russian interference in other parts of Ukraine should make it do so. Russia is not the Soviet Union. Money competes with ideology as a motivation. The desire of the elite to keep their assets safe in Europe’s financial system gives the EU leverage. The Union should use this leverage, even if there are costs to European economies in the short term. If it does not, it will only encourage more Russian adventurism. In the long term, the soft power of the EU’s open society is more attractive than Russia’s authoritarianism, not only in the former Soviet Union, but also in Russia itself. The EU should settle in for the long haul and build connections with the next generation of opinion-formers and with ordinaryRussians. |
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| Source Link | http://www.cer.org.uk/publications/archive/policy-brief/2014/eu-and-russia-uncommon-spaces |
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| Countries / Regions | Europe, Russia |
