On June 3–5, 2015, Schloss Wackerbarth in Germany hosted the Seventh Forum of the Future under the auspices of the President of the Landtag of Saxony, Dr. Matthias Rössler. The theme of this year’s forum is “The Eurasian Economic Union: Current State and Prospects for Development”.
Germany hosts Seventh Forum of the Future at Schloss Wackerbarth
On June 3–5, 2015, Schloss Wackerbarth in Germany hosted the Seventh Forum of the Future under the auspices of the President of the Landtag of Saxony, Dr. Matthias Rössler. The theme of this year’s forum is “The Eurasian Economic Union: Current State and Prospects for Development”.
The German side’s interest in forum stems from the deep crisis in relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation as a result of the civil war in Ukraine and the need to reassess the conceptual foundations for working together and search for new cooperation formats. A number of Forum participants believe that one such format could be within the framework of European Union and Eurasian Economic Union interaction, although practical steps towards the creation of working cooperation mechanisms require expert elaboration.
During the course of the Forum, experts and business and government representatives from Russia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan discussed the concept of the Eurasian Economic Union’s creation, its institutional structure and economic potential, and the prospects for cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as between the Eurasian Economic Union and China.
A great deal of time was also devoted to the political situation caused by the conflict in Ukraine. The sides exchanged their views on the state of affairs in the country and ways out of the current crisis, measures to restore trust between Russia and Germany, and the potential role of the Eurasian Economic Union in rebuilding relations between its member countries and the European Union.
The prevailing opinion in the European Union, and in Germany in particular, is that EU–Russia relations cannot be restored to their previous format – that, unfortunately, the point of no return has already been passed. At the same time, people are slowly coming to the realization that some mode of interaction between the two entities is necessary, as Russia and the European Union face common challenges. Right now, Europe does not have a clear understanding of the essence and principles of the Eurasian Economic Union and sees it more as a geopolitical, rather than an economic entity. Russia’s economic interests and the benefits it will derive from participating in the Eurasian Economic Union are regarded as minor, while the Union itself is often seen as an instrument for Moscow to impose its will on the other member states and keep them within its sphere of influence. However, European politicians cannot ignore the reality of institutional integration in Europe and recognize the need to examine in depth the issue of building relations with Russia and its neighbouring states in a qualitatively new format. This highlights the need to open up the channels of communication, get to know one another better and search for new forms for dialogue.
The Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) was represented at the Forum by its Programme Manager, Elena Alekseenkova, who spoke about possible steps for overcoming mistrust in relations between Russia and the European Union.
