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beyond the questions and objectives of economic integration. However,
Russia’s long-term ambitions imply clear geopolitical goals behind the
plans for the establishment of the Eurasian Union. Moreover, the question
of a "re-sovietising"^51 of the CIS republics raises major concern in many
EU Member States. In this regard, the EU considers the creation of the
Eurasian Economic Union rather more as a Russian geopolitical project
geared towards the countries from the post-Soviet space, than as a future
regional trade and economic partner.
To conclude, the ambitions behind the creation of a future Eurasian
Monetary Union, which is intended to be launched after 2020, also
illustrate clear geopolitical interests in transforming the Eurasian
Economic Union into a full-fledged regional power centre in the final
stage of effective regional economic integration. Only with the successful
establishment of an ambitious Economic and Monetary Union would
Russia be able to place foreign and security related issues on the political
agenda of Eurasian regional integration in the long-term perspective.
Conclusion
In this paper the following conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the
analysis, as well as on the two scenarios described in the previous part of
the paper. Basically, one can say that Russia is on the rise in the former
Soviet space due to the continuing expansion of regional economic
integration. In this regard, Moscow shows a strong commitment to revive
and promote the economic reintegration of the CIS countries within the
future Eurasian Economic Union. However, many issues relating to the
future of the Eurasian Economic Union still remain open. For example, it
is unclear whether the Eurasian Union will be capable of integrating new
members and, if so, what criteria–geopolitical, economic or trade–would
be decisive for the determining the accession of new member states. From
a current point of view, Russia puts emphasis on the institutional
deepening of Eurasian regional integration, during which time the
prospects for a new membership will be rather limited.
To conclude, the analysis revealed that Russia’s struggle to reestablish
geopolitical dominance in the near abroad through the upcoming creation
of the Eurasian Economic Union has brought ambivalent results so far. On
the basis of the two scenarios, the paper has outlined Russia’s likely future
geopolitical positioning towards the former Soviet space after the launch
(^51) Speech of former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton at a session of the foreign
ministers of the OSCE countries in Dublin on 6 December 2012.