Newsletter for the European Union:New balance between EU and Russia

 

ISSUE N. 131 08 FEBRUARY 2021

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Inside this issue The new balance between EU and Russia Russia energy strategy until 2035 Migration issues on EU–Russia nexus Could the Navanly case further divide Russia and the EU? Deteriorating EU–Russia economic relations The Ideas Powered for Business SME FUND

EDITORIAL  The new balance beetween EU and Russia  The three-day visit to Moscow of Joseph Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, from 4 until 6 February, began with a clear statement. In a meeting with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, Borrell said that the Navalny case represents "the most critical point" in the history of relations between Russia and the European Union, which today have reached "the lowest point”. Borrell's mission in Moscow comes shortly after the street protests following the arrest of Alexej Navalnj on his return to Russia after his hospitalization in Germany due to the sensational attempt to poison him. The protests represent a challenge for the Kremlin, but also for the USA and the European Union, called to give a response equal to their values. Click here to read the article

ENERGY  Russia's energy strategy until 2035 Russia most important sectors – oil, gas -have faced multiple difficult trade-offs between conflicting goals over the past decade. The oil industry, having experienced major decentralization and transition to market prices in the 1990s, has reverted to greater state control over the past ten years. Rosneft, the national oil champion, now accounts for 35 percent of oil output. Moreover, the Russian state directly controls about half of Russia’s oil production via its ownership interests in Rosneft, Bashneft and Gazpromneft. Click here to read the article

MIGRATION Migration issues on EU–Russia nexus Migration flows from the Middle East towards the Western Europe are still hot topic and another challenge for the EU during the COVID-19 crisis. However, Middle East immigrants are not the only ones who come to Europe. The EU also has another vector of migrations – Russian Federation. What are the issues that burden the migration policy cooperation between these sides? This article briefly presents the EU-Russia cooperation in visa liberalization affairs, as well as the outputs of the OECD Report on Trends of migrations in Europe. Click here to read the article

EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS  Could the Navanly case further divide Russia and the EU? A Moscow Court sentenced Russian prominent opposition leader Alexey Navalny to prison for more than 2 and a half years on Tuesday 2nd of February, fuelling fresh protests across the country. Russian opposition leader was first detained three weeks ago upon his return to Moscow from Berlin, where he spent several months recovering from poisoning with nerve agent Novichok. He is blaming for this attack on Russian security services and on President Vladimir Putin. Click here to read the article

ECONOMY Deteriorating EU–Russia economic relations On December 10th last year, the leaders of the European Union (EU) gave the green light for the six-month prolongation of economic sanctions that were imposed against Russia because of its role in the conflict in Ukraine. This seems not to be the only reason for the deterioration of bilateral relations. Arrest of the oppositional leader Alexei Navalny at the end of January this year was another bone in European relations with Russian Federation. Will the intensification of political tension influence the economic cooperation? Have the economic relations between the two sides deteriorated deeply? Click here to read the article

EU FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Innovation uptake and digitalisation in the tourism sector The European Union Intellectual Property Office launched the ‘Ideas Powered for Business SME FUND’. It is a 20 million Euro grant scheme created to help European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access their intellectual property rights. Click here to read the article