[CONFERENCE] « Diplomatic courtship and contestation in EU-Russia relations » – 4 March 2021

At the core of this talk is an assessment of the transformation of changes in diplomatic relations between the EU and Russia. It will examine the complex relations of Russia’s relations with the EU marked by fluctuations between cooperative diplomacy at the end of the 1990s and by increasing signs of tensions during the Putin era. This talk examines both the origins and reasons for the increasing conflict in EU-Russia relations. In seeking to explain the reasons for the gradual worsening of the relationship, the following aspects will be addressed: 1) Russia’s changing perception of the EU and vice versa; 2) EU-Russian contestation over the former Soviet space; 3) Implications of the crisis in Ukraine for EU-Russian relations; 4) Current EU-Russian diplomatic relations.

Anna-Sophie Maass is a Lecturer in International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Lancaster, UK. Her main areas of research are EU-Russian diplomatic relations and EU foreign policy towards its Eastern neighbourhood. She is also interested in European security policy and energy policy.