Issue № 70. October 2018

Focusing on Common Geopolitical Interests: Changing the Focus in EU-Russia Dialogue and Communication?

DSc (Political Sciences), President of Eurocontinent, Brussels, Belgium.
E-mail: pierre-emmanuel.thomann@eurocontinent.eu

The competing narratives between the EU and Russia revealed parallel interpretations of the different ongoing crises. They have largely focused on the question of "European values" and interpretations of European and international law. This "narrative war" has so far led to a worsening of relations at governmental level. It might be time to highlight the potential benefit of greater focus on common interests in order to improve communication between academics, experts and politicians from EU countries and Russia, and identify common geopolitical interests in order to engage in a strategic dialogue. This approach could help circumvent the psychological warfare based on rival ideological narratives. The article analyzes disadvantages of strategic communication of the EU, the existing challenges in the relations of the EU with Russia and the urgency of finding solutions for peace and prosperity of the peoples of Europe.

Keywords

EU-Russia relations, communication narratives, geopolitics, geopolitical interests, geopolitical cartography.