TY - JOUR

T1 - Cooperation between Saint-Petersburg and Finland. Some recommendations for the policy-makers

AU - Tkachenko, Stanislav

N1 - For five previous years, leaders of the European Union and Russia have repeated multiple times that there will be no ‘business as usual’ in bilateral relations. In practice, it meant that there would be no relations at all, except of minimal contacts in those areas, where some EU member states and Russia (including regions of Russian Federation) have become interdependent in a true sense of the word. Nowadays EU-Russia relations are worse than in any period after collapse of the USSR. Existence of sharp and systemic crisis in EU-Russia relations is widely recognized by both sides, including structures of public management, business, civil society and academic community. The challenge for political elites and academics is to secure few existing fields of common interests (security, trade, people-to-people contacts) and develop a set of new ideas on ways for return of mutual trust. The regional dimension (contacts between EU member states and Russian regions) is the most promising nowadays for fulfillment of this mission since there is no need to discuss sensitive issues of military security, conflicts outside of Europe, etc. Tactics of ‘small steps’, which is designed to preserve institutional structure of bilateral relations, should become priority to national and regional parliaments, institutions of executive branch of power, businesses and civil societies of the two states. This Policy Briefing argues that Finland and Saint-Petersburg should enlarge business contacts, regular meetings of public servants and exchanges in frameworks of public diplomacy programs, including visits of researchers and journalists, number of publications in printed editions on partner-state, its business climate, opportunities for tourism and education. Prospects for facilitation of visa regime, support of joint projects in crossborder cooperation and tourism should enlarge opportunities for peoples of two states to cooperate.

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - For five previous years, leaders of the European Union and Russia have repeated multiple times that there will be no‘business as usual’ in bilateral relations. In practice, it meant that there would be no relations at all, except of minimalcontacts in those areas, where some EU member states and Russia (including regions of Russian Federation) havebecome interdependent in a true sense of the word. Nowadays EU-Russia relations are worse than in any periodafter collapse of the USSR. Existence of sharp and systemic crisis in EU-Russia relations is widely recognized by bothsides, including structures of public management, business, civil society and academic community. The challengefor political elites and academics is to secure few existing fields of common interests (security, trade, peopleto-people contacts) and develop a set of new ideas on ways for return of mutual trust. The regional dimension(contacts between EU member states and Russian regions) is the most promising nowadays for fulfillment of thismission since there is no need to discuss sensitive issues of military security, conflicts outside of Europe, etc. Tacticsof ‘small steps’, which is designed to preserve institutional structure of bilateral relations, should become priorityto national and regional parliaments, institutions of executive branch of power, businesses and civil societies ofthe two states. This Policy Briefing argues that Finland and Saint-Petersburg should enlarge business contacts,regular meetings of public servants and exchanges in frameworks of public diplomacy programs, including visitsof researchers and journalists, number of publications in printed editions on partner-state, its business climate,opportunities for tourism and education. Prospects for facilitation of visa regime, support of joint projects in crossborder cooperation and tourism should enlarge opportunities for peoples of two states to cooperate.

AB - For five previous years, leaders of the European Union and Russia have repeated multiple times that there will be no‘business as usual’ in bilateral relations. In practice, it meant that there would be no relations at all, except of minimalcontacts in those areas, where some EU member states and Russia (including regions of Russian Federation) havebecome interdependent in a true sense of the word. Nowadays EU-Russia relations are worse than in any periodafter collapse of the USSR. Existence of sharp and systemic crisis in EU-Russia relations is widely recognized by bothsides, including structures of public management, business, civil society and academic community. The challengefor political elites and academics is to secure few existing fields of common interests (security, trade, peopleto-people contacts) and develop a set of new ideas on ways for return of mutual trust. The regional dimension(contacts between EU member states and Russian regions) is the most promising nowadays for fulfillment of thismission since there is no need to discuss sensitive issues of military security, conflicts outside of Europe, etc. Tacticsof ‘small steps’, which is designed to preserve institutional structure of bilateral relations, should become priorityto national and regional parliaments, institutions of executive branch of power, businesses and civil societies ofthe two states. This Policy Briefing argues that Finland and Saint-Petersburg should enlarge business contacts,regular meetings of public servants and exchanges in frameworks of public diplomacy programs, including visitsof researchers and journalists, number of publications in printed editions on partner-state, its business climate,opportunities for tourism and education. Prospects for facilitation of visa regime, support of joint projects in crossborder cooperation and tourism should enlarge opportunities for peoples of two states to cooperate.

KW - Saint-Petersburg, Finland, trade, investments, cross-border cooperation, business environment, paradiplomacy.

KW - Saint-Petersburg

KW - Finland

KW - trade

KW - investments

KW - cross-border cooperation

KW - business environment

KW - Paradiplomacy

UR - http://www.centrumbalticum.org/files/4154/BSR_Policy_Briefing_1_2019.pdf

M3 - Article

JO - BSR Policy Briefing

JF - BSR Policy Briefing

SN - 2342-3153

IS - 1

ER -