EU-Russia Expert Network on Foreign Policy (EUREN) – Newsletter 1

Dear colleagues,

We are excited to present the first Newsletter on the EU-Russia Expert Network on Foreign Policy (EUREN).

EUREN is a platform for exchange between foreign policy experts and think tanks from the EU and Russia. It was initiated by the EU Delegation to Russia and the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) in 2016. EUREN comes together on a quarterly basis to discuss topics which are relevant for both Russia and the EU, from the common but contested neighbourhood to relations with third countries to security and economic issues.

We have just published the results of EUREN's 11th meeting on Russia and the EU in multilateral fora.

Natalia Piskulova (EUREN Brief no. 10), Oldag Caspar (EUREN Brief no. 11) and Georgios Kostakos (EUREN Brief no. 9) discuss whether and how climate change and the deterioration of the environment could become “the challenge that unites” the EU and Russia in times of geopolitical standoff.

Maxim Suchkov (EUREN Brief no. 12) and Andrea Dessi (EUREN Brief no. 13) elaborate on EU and Russian policies in the Middle East. Maxim Suchkov deplores divergencies in their respective views, which will keep undermining cooperation for a long time to come. Andrea Dessi details where and how the EU should coordinate more closely with Russia and China in light of US retrenchment.

Alexandra Arkhangelskaya (EUREN Brief no. 14) and Alex Vines (EUREN Brief no. 15) look at opportunities and challenges for the EU and Russia emanating from the dynamic developments in many African countries Despite the existing disagreements, the authors identify several areas of potential cooperation between the EU, Russia and African states.

EUREN Chronicle no. 8 by Sabine Fischer reflects upon how the discussion at the 11th EUREN meeting revealed a wide conceptual gap between both sides' understandings of multilateralism. This limited the scope of ideas and policy recommendations the participants were able to come up with.

You will find more information about EUREN and its members here and more materials about previous meetings and activities here and here.

Happy reading!

All texts are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not represent the position of individual EUREN members or EUREN as a group.