Publication

This paper examines whether the new association agreements between the EU and its Eastern neighbors will lead to the intended goal of closer political association and economic integration among the signatories. It outlines the key features of the agreements and highlights the difficulty in ensuring their implementation. It then discusses the differing dynamics of the partner countries involved. Finally, it looks at the interplay of the Eastern Partnership with Russia’s ambition to develop a competing integration project in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and notes that the EU is still the preferred option for most of its Eastern partners.