East

The annexation of Crimea by Moscow, and then the provocation and support of the separatism in Eastern Ukraine were the beginning of an ongoing armed conflict. Two years ago in Minsk an agreement was made whose official objective was to restore peace in Eastern Ukraine. The analysis outlines the significance of this conflict in the context of discussions on the model of European security and of Russia’s policy on the West. The authors present the risks associated with the process of implementing the Minsk agreement and conclude with several conclusions for EU policy.

The annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war against Ukraine pose fundamental challenges for the European Union, especially its unanimity. Given a differing stance of the Visegrad countries, the publication analyses reactions of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic focusing on their historical experiences, public opinions, economic relations, and energy- and foreign policy.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been discussed widely in the media and in public debate both in Poland and in Germany. Grzegorz Gromadzki discusses a diversity of opinions with respect to the conflict, possible solutions and roles of both EU states.