Synopsis: |
The continuing crisis in Ukraine means that the EU's relationship with Russia has reached a critical juncture, and that the EU and its Member States need fundamentally to reassess it. In this report, the Committee considers the factors that have contributed to the decline in the EU-Russia relationship, attempt to draw lessons for the future, and consider how the EU and its Member States should respond to a changed geopolitical landscape. The Committee also asks how the EU and Member States should engage with Russia in the future, based on a sober assessment of the Russia that exists today. The majority of the evidence was received between July and December 2014, and the Committee wrote this report in January and February 2015. The Committee's purpose has not been to analyse events in Ukraine as they unfold but rather to consider the causes of the conflict and the implications that go beyond the immediate crisis. |