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38The Union State а the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus and the EU:
key issues of interaction
O.K. Petrovich-Belkin, E.A. Abdurashitova, A.A. Eremin
RUDN University, Moscow, Russia
Abstract. The present article is devoted to consideration of key political, economic, cultural and humanitarian problems and contradictions existing nowadays between the Union State of Russia and Belarus, on the one hand, and the states of the European Union, on the other. In particular, it considers such problems as disagreements on the causes and methods of solving the Ukrainian crisis, the situation with human rights in Russia, different assessment of historical events of the XX century, the problems of energy supply and transit of energy resources to Europe, the conflict in Syria, etc. In addition, the article analyzes the potential areas of cooperation between the parties, as well as examines the experience of further deepening and expanding integration within the European Union and the Union State of Russia and Belarus.
In conclusion, the authors argue that the current contradictions between the parties, despite their depth, relevance and topicality, still have the prospect of successful resolution. This thesis is conditioned primarily by the fact that in the face of growing transnational challenges and threats, both the Union State and the EU, more than ever, are interested in strengthening interaction in such areas as countering terrorism and organized crime, ensuring regional and global security, combating illegal migration and illicit drug trafficking.
Keywords: EU, the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Integration, Cooperation, Problems of Political Dialogue.
Союзное государство России и Беларуси и ЕС: основные проблемы взаимодействия О.К. Петрович-Белкин, Э.А. Абдурашитова, А.А. Еремин
Аннотация. Настоящая статья посвящена рассмотрению ключевых политических, экономических и культурно-гуманитарных проблем и противоречий, существующих в настоящее время между Союзным государством России и Беларуси, с одной стороны, и государствами Европейского союза - с другой. В частности, рассматриваются такие проблемы, как разногласия по поводу причин и методов урегулирования украинского кризиса, ситуация с правами человека в России, различная оценка исторических событий XX века, проблемы энергопоставок и транзита энергоресурсов в Европу, конфликт в Сирии и.т.д. Кроме того, в статье анализируются потенциальные направления сотрудничества между сторонами, а также изучается опыт дальнейшего углубления и расширения интеграции в рамках как Европейского союза, так и Союзного государства РФ и Республики Беларусь. Авторами исследования рассматривается также проблема введения единой валюты Союзным государством России и Беларуси в контексте изучения аналогичного опыта, накопленного государствами Европейского союза после Маастрихтского договора 1992 г.
В заключении авторы приходят к выводу, что текущие противоречия между сторонами, несмотря на всю их глубину, актуальность и злободневность, все же имеют перспективу успешного разрешения - однако лишь при условии наличия должной политической воли и рационального подхода к анализу всех имеющихся противоречий. Данный тезис обусловлен в первую очередь тем фактом, что в условиях нарастания транснациональных вызовов и угроз и Союзное государство, и ЕС, как никогда прежде, заинтересованы в укреплении взаимодействия в таких сферах, как противодействие терроризму и организованной преступности, обеспечение региональной и глобальной безопасности, борьба с нелегальной миграцией и незаконным оборотом наркотических веществ.
Ключевые слова: Россия, Беларусь, Союзное государство, Европейский союз, взаимодействие, политические проблемы и противоречия.
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The Union State (the Russian Federation and the Re
Introduction
Relations with European states have always been a special priority in the structure of the foreign policy pursued by both Russia and Belarus. This phenomenon was explained not only by the geographical, cultural and civilizational proximity, but also by Russia's close involvement in the Eurocentric system of international relations. From time immemorial, European states have been a source of technology, investment, knowledge and socially important ideas for Russia. Besides, it is none other than European civilization and culture that have been determining the shape and main trends of global politics, economy and creative life in recent centuries. Given this fact, it should be recognized that today, just like in previous times, maintaining high-level relations with European states is the key to stable and prosperous development of both Russia and Belarus. Perhaps, by paraphrasing a famous Latin phrase "Ex Oriente lux", we can say that the opposite, i.e. "Ex Occidente lux" ("Light comes from the West") has been more relevant for Russia during the last couple of centuries.
In turn, for European states, Russia has always been the largest and most powerful neighbor, on which the provision of military, political and economic security and stability in the region directly depended. In addition, Russia has long been a significant supplier of raw materials for European economies - in particular, this was the case back in the days of the Russian Empire, when Russia was the largest supplier of agricultural raw materials. Subsequently, as early as in the 20th century, Russia became the most important exporter of mineral resources (oil, gas, non-ferrous metals, etc.), as it still is today. Thus, Russia satisfies the EU's demand for natural gas and oil by almost a third, and oil products and coal by more than a quarter. Thus, Russia and European states are currently bound by a huge number of military-political, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian aspects - a kind of binding threads - the presence of which determines such a high importance of European countries in the overall structure of the foreign policy of both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.
lic of Belarus) and the EU: key issues of interaction
And, finally, one also has to note that, given the need to overcome the current economic downturn in the economies of the Russian Federation and Belarus, it seems highly appropriate to regard the European Union as the most important potential source of investment and innovative technologies vital to the Union State economy.
Integration Experience of the EU as an Object of Reflection and Adaptation by the Union State
A thorough analysis of both the positive and negative experience of the European integration project is highly valuable for determining the overall direction and developing key measures to intensify economic, political, cultural and humanitarian integration within the Union State. Moreover, the strengthening of contacts between the Union State and the EU will make a significant positive contribution to the improvement of conceptual framework and legal regulations pertaining to the functioning of the Union State. The EU experience bears scientific and practical significance, and could be potentially applied to the development of key measures to intensify economic, political, cultural and humanitarian integration within the Union State; we can define the following aspects of this EU experience as fundamental:
• Experience in deepening and expanding integration;
• Positive and negative experience gained with the introduction of the single currency;
• Experience in flexible distribution of competences between national and supranational institutions of an integration association [Kurylev, Naryshkin 2016];
• Experience with the functions of a number of main EU agencies (whose analogues are expected to be established within the Union State);
• Experience in intensification of humanitarian cooperation as part of the integration association;
• Positive and negative experience related to the attempts to solve key social problems (primarily those related to migration).
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Key Issues of Political Dialogue Held between the EU and the Union State of Russia and Belarus
To date, there are a significant number of factors that, to a certain extent, hinder the development of a full-fledged political, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation between the Union State of Russia and Belarus, on the one part, and the EU, on the other. From the authors' point of view, these factors can be divided into 5 large complex clusters:
1. The Ukrainian crisis and the imposition of sanctions against Russia.
A major blow to the relations between the EU and the Union State turned out to be the Crimea situation and the tragic events in the East of Ukraine associated with the beginning of the civil war and the subsequent formation of the unrecognized Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Radically different views on the status of Crimea and on the events occurring in the East of Ukraine, mutual accusations and a number of mistakes and miscalculations made by both the Russian and European sides in their foreign policy strategies became the key prerequisites for the rapid cooling of relations between Russia and Belarus, on the one part, and the EU states, on the other [Fedorchenko 2017]. At present, the prospects of the Minsk Peace Process and the activities of the Normandy Four bring hope for overcoming (or at least mitigating) mutual mistrust and disagreements; however, there is little doubt that the events of 2014 - 2017 will have a significant negative impact on the relations between the two sides for long time to come, thus creating a major split on the European continent.
2. Disagreements over the conflict in Syria and the ways to resolve it.
From the very beginning of the civil war in Syria, Russia and Belarus, on the one part, and the leading EU states, on the other, demonstrated a radically different approach to the settlement of this conflict. European states are of the view that it is primarily the government of the current President of the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR) Bashar al-Assad that is responsible for the fatal development of events in the region, as the civil war broke out as a result of the brutal and inept policy of the
Syrian authorities who did not demonstrate any willingness to make concessions and negotiate with the opposition (whose radical position, in turn, was generated by the overly harsh reaction of the government to the justified peaceful protests). From this point of view, a full settlement of the conflict is possible only if the current SAR government resigns unconditionally. In turn, Russia and Belarus are avid supporters of a radically different approach stating that, despite all the mistakes made, the government led by Bashar al-Assad does represent the legitimate authority in the state, and the only way to reach a peaceful settlement is to ensure comprehensive cooperation and lead an equitable dialogue with the current government of Syria.
3. Energy factor.
The existing problems in forming an energy dialogue between Russia, Belarus and the EU states may also be considered as one of the most significant factors in the deterioration of relations between the two sides. As we have already mentioned, Europe is largely dependent on energy supplies from Russia, which, together with the intention of the Russian Federation to claim the status of "energy superpower", causes some concern on the part of the EU countries. One could also name an additional factor aggravating the dialogue between Russia and the EU - the energy conflicts and the problem of supplying and transporting energy that exists in Russia's relations with neighboring countries (in particular, the so-called "gas wars" with Ukraine and Belarus) [Petrovich-Belkin 2011], regarded by the EU as Russia's attempt to resort to the energy factor in order to exert political pressure on neighboring countries. At the same time, the greatest concern about the EU's energy dependence on Russia is shown by the states of Central and Eastern Europe, primarily due to their greater vulnerability to Russia in this issue (the issue is especially acute for the Baltic states that are almost 100% dependent on the energy supplies from Russia), as well as due to the bitter legacy of the past characterized by mutual resentment and mistrust. All this, combined with the absence of a single and distinct EU position on the energy issue, has a negative impact both on the relations between the sides and on a number of other political and
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The Union State (the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus) and the EU: key issues of interaction
economic issues - in particular, on cooperation in the field of regional security; on trade, economic, humanitarian, cultural and visa issues; and on the establishment of a constructive dialogue in the environmental sphere.
4. Criticism expressed by the EU in relation to the human rights violations in Russia and Belarus.
One of the key disagreements existing in the political, social and humanitarian spheres between Russia and Belarus, on the one part, and the EU states, on the other, is the difference in their approach to the issue of observance and protection of human rights. European states have been traditionally paying special attention to these issues, which to a certain extent has a negative impact on the entire complex of relations between the Union State of Russia and Belarus with the EU - both in the purely political sphere and in the socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian areas1. When formulating their position, the EU states proceed from the premise that democratic and human rights values are universal and equally applicable to countries with completely different cultures and stemming from different civilizations, regardless of their level of development and historical, ideological or mental context. In turn, Russia and Belarus take a radically different approach, considering the issue of human rights not in a narrow political, but rather in a broad philosophical and cultural context, which implies the fundamental impossibility of absolutely identical understanding of values such as humanistic principles and human rights issues by representatives of different cultures and civilizations without taking into account their historical and mental heritage. Therefore, it is only logical that this point of view leads to the fact that Russia and Belarus, while not accepting the European approach to the human rights issue, regard the criticism expressed by the EU solely as an attempt of foreign-policy-related pressure and as an intention to interfere in their own domestic political and sovereign affairs. Such a difference in approaches has been radically complicating the establishment
of a mutually beneficial dialogue between the European states and the Russian Federation for decades already and has actually become a permanent factor that leaves a negative imprint on the entire complex of relations that the Union State of Russia and Belarus has with the EU.
Conclusion
Summing up the discussion of the key problems existing in the interaction of the Union State of Russia and Belarus with the EU, it seems appropriate to emphasize that now, in the current conditions of increasing transnational challenges and threats, both the Union State and the EU are more than ever interested in strengthening cooperation in such areas as combating terrorism, organized crime, illegal migration and illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and substances. In addition, the establishment and maintenance of a constructive and equitable dialogue on key political issues of our time - for example, on the resolution of regional ethnic and religious conflicts in the Middle East (in particular, in Syria), in Afghanistan and in a number of other regions of the world - is of exceptional importance for both the Union State and the EU.
While acknowledging the recent positive dynamics in relations between the Union State and the EU, it should be noted that a number of problems and contradictions still remain between the sides, thus affecting a wide range of foreign policy, economic, social and humanitarian issues. The key problems in the current relations between the Union State and the EU are the following: the discrepancy in the assessment of the causes and consequences of the Ukrainian crisis and different approaches to the settlement of this issue; the continuing sanctions regime against a number of both Russian and Belarusian entities; the disagreements over the conflict in Syria and the overall strategy to combat international terrorism; the energy factor; the difference in approaches to the protection and observance of human rights within the EU and the Union State.
1 Zagorsky A. Russia and East Central Europe after the Cold War. Available at: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/11384.pdf (accessed: 25.02.2018)
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About the authors: Petrovich-Belkin Oleg K. - PhD in History, Associate Professor of the Department of Theory and History of International Relations, RUDN University (e-mail: [email protected]); Abdurashitova Elnura Abdurashitovna - Deputy Director of the RUDN University Engineering Academy for International Affairs (e-mail: [email protected]); Eremin Arkady Alekseevich - PhD in History, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Theory and History of International Relations, RUDN University (e-mail: [email protected]).
Об авторах: Петрович-Белкин Олег Константинович - кандидат исторических наук, доцент кафедры теории и истории Российского университета дружбы народов (e-mail: [email protected]); Абдурашитова Эльнура Абдурашитовна - заместитель директора Инженерной академии РУДН по международной деятельности (e-mail: [email protected]); Еремин Аркадий Алексеевич - кандидат исторических наук, старший преподаватель кафедры теории и истории Российского университета дружбы народов (e-mail: [email protected]).
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