Relations between Russia and the European Union in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in the late 2020, demonstrated that the global community is unable to act effectively in the face of a new enemy, hence the need for a new format of interstate interaction. The present research objective was to explore the impact of the pandemic on the relations between Russia and the European Union, as well as to identify new standards of cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic. The study revealed the absence of fundamental changes that would improve the political communications between the two parties because no non-politicized dialogue was possible at that stage. The author describes the geopolitical realities that prevented Brussels from building relations with Moscow in the new paradigm. The pandemic did not level the sanctions pressure on Russia. In the context of unilateral restrictive measures against Russia and the geopolitical conjuncture of mutual deterrence, the new formats of interaction included the humanitarian cooperation with Italy and Russia's "vaccine diplomacy" in Hungary and Slovakia. However, the new types of cooperation between individual states in the context of the pandemic can restore a systemic dialogue between Russia and the European Union. Russia’s contribution to the fight against COVID-19 in Europe can hardly be overestimated.