The EU and Russia: From principle to pragmatism

The EU and Russia find it difficult to get on. Europeans are disturbed by the Russian government's scant regard for civil liberties, its tightening grip on the energy sector and its bullying of neighbouring countries. Half of all Britons and more than 60 per cent of French people think badly of Russia. Russians, in turn, grumble that the EU is complicated and condescending. They do not know what to make of the EU’s internal travails and its continued expansion. They suspect that the new East European members have turned the EU against Moscow.