European Union – Geopolitical Rival or Key Partner of Russia?

Abstract

European countries have traditionally been Russia’s key economic partners. Mutual interest is based on geographical proximity, historical ties and also by the complementarity markets. Mutual sanctions spread over recent years has called into question Russia – European Union partnership and cooperation established by Agreement in 1994. This article reviews the current status of Russia – EU and its member states relations. Also the article contains analysis of mutual trade, economic and investment cooperation, economic and diplomatic ties of partners during periods of mutual rapprochement (before 2014th) and the subsequent cooling of relations. Conclusions on current Russia – EU and its member states relations. Also the article contains analysis of mutual trade, econ Europe relationship made in this article are based on a comprehensive analysis of official statistics of bilateral trade and investment cooperation between Russia and foreign countries. Current data shows the importance of the European direction for our country. This article also discusses possible ways to improve the efficiency of interaction between partners at the present stage.