The Eurasian Union as a Tool of Russian Geopolitics
211formation of the Eurasian Union is intended to be a long-term
comprehensive integration process, which encompasses deep interlinkages
and common infrastructure in the member states in a range of sectors,
such as transport, energy, agriculture, or industry.^43
Ukraine between Eurasian and European
Integration Aspirations
Already from the very beginning, Russia had assigned a key role to
Ukraine with regard to the establishment of the Eurasian Union. For the
political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov, as he recently stated, the Ukrainian
entry to the Eurasian Economic Union would contribute towards
becoming “a large international association with a fairly big market and at
least the potential for a diversified economy.”^44 Beyond that, Russia
regards the instrumentalization of the relations between Ukraine and the
Euro-Atlantic community as a strategic instrument for isolating Moscow
from its closest neighbors in the former Soviet space.
However, Ukraine moved towards Europeanization by actively joining
the Eastern Partnership initiative in 2009.^45 Regardless of the missing
membership perspective, the European Union still could offer Ukraine a
wide range of incentives, beginning with political association and
economic integration, plus visa liberalisation, and up to deep cooperation
in many sectors. All levels of commitment are to introduce again an
intensified integration process between the European Union and Ukraine,
based on European norms, standards, and values. On this basis, the
conditionality of the European approach extends to domestic political
pluralism and respect for human rights and freedoms.
Altogether, integration towards the European Union is perceived very
positively by the population in Ukraine. According to a survey by the
Razumkov centre,^46 41.7% of the respondents support political and
economic integration into the European Union, while 31% of them are in
favour of the Eurasian Economic Union. Furthermore, several positive
effects of signing an association agreement with the European Union are
anticipated and emphasized, including: the effectiveness of the
government (41.0% of the respondents answer positively); the promotion
of democracy (51.9%); economic development (52.5%); public services
(^43) Eurasian Economic Integration: Facts and Figures, 6-7.
(^44) Lukyanov 2013.
(^45) Joint Declaration of the Prague Eastern Partnership Summit.
(^46) Repräsentative Umfrage des Razumkow-Zentrums.