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EU-Russia relations: An ECFR gathering

On 10-11 May, the European Council on Foreign Relations hosted a seminar in Brussels on EU-Russia relations in partnership with the Spanish Presidency of the European Union. The theme of the event was ‘EU - Russia Cooperation: Dilemmas of Economic Crisis and Modernisation' and the objective of the discussion was to review the state of EU-Russia relations following the turbulent developments of 2009 and against the backdrop of the global financial crisis.

The event brought together policy makers from the EU Member States, European institutions as well as prominent academics and experts on EU-Russia relations. Some of the highlights of the seminar included interventions from Swedish Foreign Ministers Carl Bildt, Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, who spoke on ‘What role for Russia in the European Security Order' alongside the Spanish Secretary of State for the EU Diego López Garrido.  Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski's also delivered a captivating account of Putin's changing attitude towards Poland in the run-up to and aftermath of the Smolensk disaster.