Eastern Partnership Countries and Eurasian Integration in 2012~2015

Eastern Partnership Countries and Eurasian Integration in 2012~2015

This study traces the dynamics of Eastern Partnership countries’ involvement in Eurasian integration for the period 2012~2015. Three types of cooperation-active, neutral, and confrontational-between the Eastern Partnership and the Eurasian Economic Union are analyzed. Special emphasis is also placed on the economic convergence of Eastern Partnership members and the Eurasian Economic Union states. The study reveals clear discrepancies in the economies of the region, revealing a significant obstacle to further integration. It is suggested that the presence of an extra-regional pole of power, namely the European Union, is weakening regional integration. Unmatched clusters of integration and economic convergence are found through heuristic examination of integration at the level of country dyads.