Political scientists have assessed the prospects for EU cooperation with Russia

The countries of the European Union (EU) remain interested in energy cooperation with Russia, but the political decisions of Brussels and the geopolitical situation limit the opportunities for dialogue. This was stated on April 2 by political scientist and publicist Georgy Dibrov to Izvestia.

"All EU countries are interested in energy cooperation with Russia. At the same time, there are some EU political elites who, through Brussels, put their ambitions above the common European interests. Artificially created Russophobia, the terrorist attack on the Nord Streams and the Druzhba oil pipeline energetically set back the economies of the EU countries 60 years ago. Globalization has led to the fact that attacks on Russia have a painful effect on the initiator countries and their supporters," Dibrov said.

According to him, after 2022, the EU economy faced serious difficulties, including a slowdown in growth and a decline in industrial activity. The political scientist stressed that against the background of energy restrictions, a number of countries that previously showed GDP growth of 5-9% now show only 1-2%. At the same time, as the expert pointed out, the countries with nationally oriented policies, such as Hungary and Slovakia, as well as Italy and Austria, which advocate dialogue, demonstrate the greatest interest in restoring cooperation with the Russian Federation.

At the same time, Dibrov believes that it is premature to talk about a possible EU withdrawal from Ukraine's support. According to him, the key EU countries will continue to finance Kiev, as they are interested in maintaining the current geopolitical model. He added that new financial assistance packages are being discussed, as well as the expansion of military-technical cooperation.

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The project manager of the Polylog Group, Yevgeny Zlenko, in turn, stressed that the theses about the possible rejection of the EU from Ukraine in order to restore relations with Russia are an exaggeration. According to him, the Ukrainian side remains an important element of the economic and political system of Brussels.

"The EU needs Ukraine as a living embodiment of the so-called "Russian threat." The Brussels bureaucracy, which has begun to experience a crisis of legitimacy, finds ideological support in this image. It allows you to write off any economic difficulties, suppress internal opposition and accelerate the adoption of decisions that are unfavorable for the member states. If you remove this image, the whole structure may collapse over time. Europe, rather, can start reducing aid packages, haggling and delaying supplies, but it will not want to completely stop support and will hold on to it until the last moment," he concluded.

The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reported on April 1 that the EU's priorities were shifting towards energy cooperation with Russia, which could affect the volume of support for Ukraine. In particular, multibillion-dollar aid packages to Kiev are in question.

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