EU–Russia Relations Through the Prism of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument

The joint ownership principle on which EU–Russia relations are based has been put to the test by divergences over recent political and economic developments and the adoption of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). While Russia has excluded itself from the ENP, the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the ENP’s main financial instrument, extends its coverage to the Russian Federation. This article argues that, with the adoption of the ENPI, the EU has reintroduced a form of conditionality that undermines the main principle on which the EU–Russia partnership is built. Even if cooperation in the shared neighbourhood, for instance through cross–border projects funded under the ENPI, could be improved, it is by no means certain that such an example could be replicated when it comes to consolidating democracy, promoting human rights and creating development in Russia.