Russian Reactions towards EU–Black Sea Integration

This paper looks at how Russian policies towards the Black Sea countries have affected its relations with the European Union (EU), departing from Russian foreign policy and how its goals are projected in this area. The analysis seeks to shed light on how Russian political dealings conflate or clash with EU policies developed towards this space. Is the Black Sea area a space for convergence or instead is it promoting dissension in this bilateral relationship? Does Russia understand the EU as a ‘game changer’ in the area? To what extent does the involvement of other external players, such as the USA, with their different policy goals, affect political relations in this complex geography that is the Black Sea area? The paper argues that Russia has promoted a policy towards the Black Sea in line with its main foreign policy goals, and that regarding the EU, it has been following and (re)acting to EU policies and actions in diverse ways, though the Russian rhetoric towards the EU has been harsher than its political moves, due to an understanding of the EU as being a limited player in the area. Therefore, Russia does not perceive the EU as a potential ‘game changer’.