Head of programme: Prof. Dmitri Trenin (CMC, Moscow)

Together with the Carnegie Center in Moscow (CMC, http://www.carnegie.ru/en/), the Swedish Institute of International Affairs ran a project between 2007 and 2009. The project, which was commissioned by the Swedish MFA in order to prepare for the Swedish EU presidency in the autumn of 2009, was policy oriented and concentrated on finding areas of mutually beneficial cooperation for the EU and Russia. Among topics that were explored wore regional cooperation (especially in the Baltic Sea region) and economic relations.

The project organised two workshops to explore the topics mentioned above – one in Saint Petersburg and one in Moscow – and terminated in a major conference in Stockholm. The conclusions from the workshops and conferences resulted in a policy paper with recommendations to the MFA.

"Sometimes it is easier to be a strategic partner than a neighbour"

Javier Solana at the Stockholm Russia Forum

On 23 June, Javier Solana and Carl Bildt held the concluding speeches at the Stockholm Russia Forum, which was organized jointly by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and the Carnegie Moscow Center.

 Javier Solana

Carl Bildt 

During the day, different aspects of Russian political and economic development and the future of EU-Russia relations were highlighted by distinguished speakers from Russia, the United States and the European Union. The audience consisted of about 100 invited experts and practioners with a professional interest in Russia and EU-Russia relations.

The forum was divided into four panels:

1. The economic crisis: Economic, social and political consequences for Russia
Chair: Pekka Sutela, Head of BOFIT, Bank of Finland
Speakers:
• Ksenia Yudaeva, Chief Economist, Sberbank
• Erik Berglöf, Chief Economist and Special Advisor to the President, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development        
• Mark Urnov, Dean, Faculty for political sciences, Higher School of Economics 

2. Regional co-operation: Dividends for the EU and Russia
Chair: Sergei Vasiliev, Deputy Chairman, Vneshekonombank
Speakers:
• Dmitry Bukin, Head of Unit for Regional Cooperation, Department of Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia
• Christian Ketels, Principal Associate, Harvard Business School
• Hiski Haukkala, Special Adviser, Unit for Policy Planning and Research, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

3. Europe, Russia and the US: A New Future?
Chair: Sir Roderic Lyne, Member of Council, Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House
Speakers:
• David A. Merkel, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, US
• Dmitri Trenin, Director, Carnegie Moscow Center
• Hugues Mingarelli, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for External Relations, European Commission

4. The EU and Russia: Common Ground in the Common Neighbourhood
Chair: Sabine Fischer, Senior Research Fellow, EU Institute for Security Studies
Speakers:
• Vladimir Milov, President, Institute of Energy Policy
• Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor in Chief, Russia in Global Affairs
• Katinka Barysch, Deputy Director, Centre for European Reform

Full programme 

Some of the presentations are available below:
Erik Berglöf  (550 KB)
Hiski Haukkala  (180 KB)
Christian Ketels  (540 KB)
Ksenia Yudaeva  (350 KB)

See also the Carnegie Moscow Center: http://www.carnegie.ru/en/news/81968.htm 

On February 19, the Carnegie Moscow Center and SIIA jointly organized a workshop on EU-Russia relations. The theme was Overcoming the Crisis and Shaping the Future and the venue the Carnegie Moscow Center. The purpose was to bring together analysts, politicians and entrepreneurs to discuss how deepened co-operation between the EU and Russia can contribute to reducing the effects of the current economic crisis and to emerging from it in a strong position.

Among the speakers were: Timo Hammarén, head of Economics and Trade Section of the European Commission’s Delegation to Russia, Yevgeny Yasin, former Russian Minister for the Economy, Dina Krylova, Executive Director of Opora, Professor Anders Lundström, the Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research, Mattias Danielsson, Vice President of KontaktEast and Katerina Udalova, Managing Director of Umaco Management.

Workshop Programme in Russian and English

The workshop was divided into four panels:
1. The Global Economic Crisis – Emerging in a Strong Position
2. Innovation and Creative Thinking – Keys to Future Economic Growth
3. SMEs and Entrepreneurship as Vital Tools for Strengthening the Economy
4. Concrete Measures for Deepening Economic Cooperation between Russia and the EU in Times of Economic Crisis - Common Challenges and Goals Ahead

Presentations:
A. Barkovskii (12 MB, in Russian)
M. Danielsson (3 MB, in English)
D. Krylova (8 MB, in Russian)
A. Lundström (600 KB, in English)
K. Udalova (600 KB, in English)
O. Zamulin  (100 KB, in Russian)

See also the Carnegie Moscow Center: http://www.carnegie.ru/ru/news/80722.htm

See also the article in Chastnyi Korrespondent on 21 February: 
http://www.chaskor.ru/p.php?id=3722 (in Russian)

 Dmitri Trenin

Timo Hammarén

Workshop in Saint Petersburg on EU-Russia cooperation in the Baltic Sea region – 11 December 2008

On 11 December 2008, a workshop was jointly organized by the Leontief Centre in Saint Petersburg (http://leontief.ru/eng/), the Carnegie Moscow Center and SIIA. The theme of the workshop was Issues and Prospects for Regional Cooperation between the European Union and the Russian Federation in the Baltic Sea Area, and the venue the Smolny Institute in Saint Petersburg. Discussions took place in four panels: one on infrastructure, one on innovations policy, one on investment opportunities and a final panel for a more general discussion. Programme

Some of the presentations are available below:
Chizhkov (9 MB)
Frankelius (4 MB)
Gladkikh (2 MB)
Hencsey (3 MB)
Kizilova (15 MB)
Kolosova (5 MB)
Nikolaev for Belyakova (226 KB)
Oding (8 MB)
Ryabov (1 MB)
Vogelmann (1 MB)