Suspicious Neighbour: Russia’s Role in the Quest for the EU’s Strategic Autonomy

The article explains the roots, the essence and the consequences of the Russian approach to the European Union’s idea of strategic autonomy. While the EU’s ambition is treated with a degree of hope for a more balanced world by the Russian academic community, the official attitude is clearly sceptical. Russian understanding of sovereignty leaves little place for such a specific actor as the EU. At the same time, Russia itself is struggling to ensure autonomy and equilibrium on the global level. In spite of the high scepticism with regard to the future of the strategic autonomy, its success would matter for Russia, especially in the field of economy and digitalization. The process of acquiring strategic autonomy would be, on the other hand, influenced by the perception of the Russian challenge. Attention is also paid to the transatlantic bond, which is interpreted very differently – with constant suspicion in Russia and as a helping tool in the West. The new stage of world politics is set in Asia, where the EU and Russia will struggle to ensure their positions in competition with more adapted actors. Overall, the EU’s strategic autonomy discussion is most important for countries that can in some way contribute to achieving it, which Russia is not. Russia, EU, NATO, Sovereignty, Autonomy, Transatlantic Dependency, Asia, Digitalization