Welcome to the EUCON Online Module

This Online Learning Unit on the relations between the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was developed in the framework of the Jean Monnet Network “The EU and the EEU: Between Conflict and Competition, Convergence and Cooperation” (EUCON), which was funded by the Programme “Erasmus+” of the European Union from 2020 until 2023. The Russian war against Ukraine fundamentally changed the geopolitical context: While the EU’s relations with Russia and Belorussia deteriorated, a new window of opportunity opened for deepening the EU external relations with Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

European companies and non-governmental organisations operating in the countries of the EEU face concrete risks due to the changing geopolitical environment. Based on the latest research of the EUCON team members, the online learning unit introduces participants from outside academia to the current state of affairs in the EU’s relations with the EEU. Chapter 2 includes country profiles of all member states of the EEU to provide participants with an overview of the region. In chapter 3, the participants are introduced to the institution of the EEU. Chapter 4 then discusses the questions, in how far the member states of the EAEU form a coherent region. In chapter 5, the participants learn about the EU’s most important policy instruments for the countries of the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia. As the EU’s relations with Russia were always outstanding from those with other post-Soviet countries, chapter 6 is dedicated to the questions, whether EU-Russia relations are a special partnership. In summary chapter 7, the participants are offered the opportunity to test the knowledge acquired in the course of the online learning unit.

The materials are offered as open access to facilitate access to the research findings of the EUCON project. Part of the online learning unit was developed by students of the University of Passau in the framework of a seminar under the Jean Monnet Network EUCON.

We wish you interesting insights into the relations of the EU with the EAEU and its partner countries.