Russia is the largest and one of the most important of the European Union’s neighbours. The challenge is for the EU to work out a common policy on how to handle its neighbour – and to implement it consistently.

The new Lisbon treaty speaks of the EU’s responsibility to maintain the cohesion of its external operations, but only within the scope of the community’s responsibility. Beyond that, there is a growing tendency for member states and large corporations to act autonomously. There is no cohesion here. On the contrary, diverging interests and even rivalry are common.