A meeting of the EU-Russia experts' network, organized under the initiative of the EU Delegation to the Russian Federation aiming at strengthening the basis for a longer-term engagement between the EU and the Russian Federation, takes place on 2-3 February 2017 in Moscow and will be hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council. Three sessions of the meeting will allow its participants, 30 experts on foreign policy issues from the EU and Russia, to exchange their views on the most topical issues relevant for the relations between the EU, Russia and the USA.
A meeting of the EU-Russia experts' network, organized under the initiative of the EU Delegation to the Russian Federation aiming at strengthening the basis for a longer-term engagement between the EU and the Russian Federation, takes place on 2-3 February 2017 in Moscow and will be hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council. Three sessions of the meeting will allow its participants, 30 experts on foreign policy issues from the EU and Russia, to exchange their views on the most topical issues relevant for the relations between the EU, Russia and the USA.
Building on experts' meetings held in 2016, seven further meetings of the EU-Russia Experts' Network are foreseen until the end of 2018 in different locations in the EU and Russia, in addition to the ongoing meeting in Moscow. Each of them will discuss different issues relating to the current EU-Russia relations. Meetings will be held in accordance with the Chatham House Rule.
Igor Ivanov's speech
Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and colleagues!
First of all, let me warmly welcome everybody at the Russian International Affairs Council and to greet all Russian and foreign participants to the EU – Russia Expert Network on Foreign Relations meeting. This project was launched about one year ago and I am very pleased to see it entering a new stage. I am also happy to note that the EU Delegation to Russia and the EU Ambassador continue to keep this initiative on their radar screen. The Russian Council values this partnership and we are committed to develop it further.
Last year was a year of many surprises for all of us – from Brexit to the unexpected outcome of the US Presidential elections. You do not need to be a prophet to predict that 2017 will also surprise us more than once. It might sound somewhat strange, but it appears that Russia is likely to be much more predictable than Europe this year. The Russian economic and political systems proved to be resilient and stable despite a very volatile international environment that we had for the last couple of years. I do not think that we will observe any dramatic changes in the overall situation in Russia or in its foreign policy in 2017.
On the other hand, Europe might change quite significantly within next eleven months. The repercussions of Brexit are not yet clear, neither is the format of the UK – EU divorce. Elections in France, in Spain, in the Netherlands – and even in Germany – may trigger important changes in European politics and might have a lasting impact on EU institutions. The financial and migration crises are not yet behind us; they are likely to affect the European Union over this year and beyond this year.
I consider very appropriate that organizers of our meeting today invited distinguished American experts to join us for the discussion. The United States will continue to have a lot of impact on the situation in Europe and it would be great to get your insight about the most likely changes in the US foreign and security policies. I realize that it is too early to make any final judgments on where President Trump is taking America to, but I am sure that we are already in a position to analyze the most likely moves of the White House that would affect both Europe and Russia.
As I understand, the meeting today and tomorrow will focus mostly on two aspects of the current situation in our continent: the security dilemmas for Europe and the future of sanctions. In my view, this is the right selection of priorities. The European security environment today cannot be considered satisfactory by any standards; we cannot and should not accept it as the ‘new normal’. Likewise, we should not simply state that sanctions and countersanctions will be with us for a long time. Both issues have to be revisited. Experts and analysts have to stretch their imagination and to go beyond conventional wisdom, if they want to make a difference.
Let me wish all participants to the EU – Russia Expert Network on Foreign Relations meeting highly productive and intellectually inspiring conversations today and tomorrow.
Thank you for your attention.
