Relations between the EU and Russia: The agreement on partnership and co‐operation

Relations between Russia and the Western Europe have been placed on a new footing since the radical changes brought about by Mikhail Gorbachev led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. A recent treaty, due for implementation in 1995, opens the prospect of integrating Russia into Western markets as a partner ‐ provided that Russia maintains progress on democratic development. While negotiations have not been easy, a framework is now in place that recognizes Russia as a great power that through co‐operation with Western Europe can potentially play a very positive role in world affairs. In this process, Germany has a distinct role to play, as the strongest economy in the EU and as the nation with strong historical and other interests in the eastern part of the continent ‐ a country that was rent by the ideological division of Europe. Different scenarios for the evolution of both the EU and post‐communist Russia can be envisaged, implying that the Treaty on Partnership and Co‐operation is essentially a starting‐point in the new relationship between the two entities.