On November 2, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), in partnership with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Russian Federation and the Delegation of the European Union to Russia, held the 9th meeting on the consequences of global changes and the future of Russia-EU relations within "Talk to an Ambassador" sessions by RIAC and the embassies of the countries holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
On November 2, 2020, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), in partnership with the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Russian Federation and the Delegation of the European Union to Russia, held the 9th meeting on the consequences of global changes and the future of Russia-EU relations within "Talk to an Ambassador" sessions by RIAC and the embassies of the countries holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The bilateral agenda of the workshop included the following issues: key German policies during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union; assessment of the state of relations between Russia and the EU and the prospects for their development in the post-COVID world; climate agenda and objectives of energy cooperation between Russia and the EU; traditional and new security challenges, etc.
Russia was represented at the workshop by: Igor Ivanov, RIAC President; Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General; Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director of Programs; Alexander Grushko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, RIAC Member; Nikolay Kobrinets, Director of the Department of European Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Alexei Gromyko, Director of RAS Institute of Europe, RIAC Member, RAS Corresponding Member; Konstantin Simonov, Head of National Energy Security Fund; and Professor Leonid Grigoriev, Academic Supervisor of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Chief Advisor to the Head of the Analysis Center under the Government of the Russian Federation. EU was represented by: Markus Ederer, Ambassador of the European Union to the Russian Federation; Géza Andreas von Geyr, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Russian Federation; Miguel Berger, State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office; Clara De La Torre, Deputy Director General, Climate Action Department, European Commission; Florian Willershausen, Creon Capital, Director Business Marketing Communications Development; Susan Stewart, Head of the Research Division on Eastern Europe and Eurasia, German Institute for International and Security Affairs; and Nathalie Tocci, Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (Rome). Russian and German experts, RIAC members and experts expressed their views on the entire spectrum of areas for cooperation between Russia and the European Union, pointing out a number of most pending issues. Russian International Affairs Council was also represented by Natalia Vyakhireva, RIAC Program Manager, Julia Timofeeva and Milan Lazovich, RIAC Program Assistants.
The participants of the workshop agreed that, on the whole, Russia and the European Union today have a significant, undiscovered potential for mutually beneficial cooperation based on mutual trust, respect for interests, and equality. The experts also noted that the challenging international situation and the deep crisis in bilateral relations between Moscow and Brussels significantly complicate and hinder the full-fledged development of ties in the desired format, that could bring significant benefits and stability both on the European continent and worldwide.
Russian International Affairs Council regularly holds workshops with the participation of representatives of embassies and expert community of the countries holding Presidency of the Council of the European Union. From 2015 to 2020 workshops were held jointly with the embassies of Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Estonia, Austria, Finland, and Croatia.
