The complex EU relations with its neighbours to the South: a Historical Perspective

According to many analysts, the Russian-Georgian war in August 2008 fundamentally challenged European security, as well as the relationships of power there. The European Union decided to pay more attention to the Southern Caucasus region and its eastern neighbours. As a result, European Neighbourhood Policy is now on its way to being transformed into two parallel policies: an Eastern Partnership and a Union for the Mediterranean. It is in this light that this book analyses just where the European neighbourhood stood before the outbreak of the Georgian crisis and into what direction it is potentially going. How will eastern’ and 'southern’ neighbourhoods differ? What position will the Eastern Partnership take in future EU-Russian relations? The stances taken by individual Eastern Partnership partner countries towards the EU are examined.