Barely one year after the Orange Revolution, Ukraine finds itself in the midst of fresh internal and external dislocations. In one respect, the revolution promises to be enduring. Ukraine is a democratic country with a vigorous political life, and a return to state intimidation and political stagnation is no longer feasible. But the revolution has not fulfilled its central promise: the emergence of authorities who, finally, would govern in the interests of the country rather than themselves. With few exceptions, there has been no attempt to challenge the country's dysfunctional institutional inheritance or replace the culture of patronage with meritocracy. This failing has not only created new internal cleavages, but reopened old international vulnerabilities. The Russian Federation has recovered from its post-orange disorientation and is governed by an elite confident that the country's wealth and energy resources can be used to create a 'sphere of predominance' on the doorstep of the EU. Russia's gas diplomacy in Ukraine, a key corridor to European consumers, reinforces the EU's broader stakes in Ukraine's capacity and trajectory. Without indulging Ukraine's illusions about EU membership, the EU needs to develop channels of integration that are both realistic and mutually beneficial.

Luis Miotti and Frédérique Sachwald

Jean-Marie Paugam, Serge Perrin and Anne-Sophie Novel 

Since 2003 and after centuries of geopolitical competition, Russia and Turkey have drawn together in a new bilateral relationship. Expanding trade has been a major driving force behind this, but shared disillusionment with United States and European policies and attitudes, as well as increasing common ground on issues in the broader Black Sea region and further afield in the Middle East, have all played a role. At this juncture, the main impact of this new relationship is in Russia and Turkey's joint border area of the South Caucasus - with potentially negative implications for the fragile state of Georgia and for the European Union's new 'Neighborhood Policy' in the region.

Raphaël Delpech and  Jean-Marie Paugam

Valérie Niquet

Anne-Sophie Novel and Jean-Marie Paugam (English written paper, to be release in hard copy in the beginning of 2006)

Jean-Marie Paugam

This paper assesses the impact of global competition and enlargement on the location of production within Europe.

Despite the lack of any clear signs of proper 'Europeanization' or any desir to formally joint the European integration process (to became a full member of the European Union - EU), Russia has already become an insider in European political and economic life. Her interaction with the EU, both on a global level and in the sphere of private interests, depends on and is influenced by events within th EU. In this context, Russia can and must also fully consider tactical changes occurring withing decision-making mechanims, and the balance of power within the EU.