The EU’S development imperative and the expected evolution of its relationship with Russia

Kovács, János

Keywords: EU-Russian relations, Hungarian-Russian relations, economic development, centre and periphery of development, global economic development, industrial development, knowledge transfers

Russia continues to play a significant role in the evolution of world politics, both as a nuclear power and producer of raw materials, as well as based on her historical experiences and international networks.

In the future, Hungary will certainly continue to be unable to meet its raw material and energy needs from domestic sources and will be forced to rely on imports. At the same time, the Hungarian economy needs partners and receiving markets, particularly in agriculture. In this respect the value of supply (delivery) security, and the question of economic efficiency and partnership appreciate. For this reason, it would be practical to exploit the advantages of the relationship network developed over half a century before democratic transformation; particularly as the so called socialist model has disappeared and today’s Russia is the successor of the Soviet Union only in so far as Hungary is the successor of Kádár. Consequently the strengthening of Russian-Hungarian economic ties is vital and can be most effectively served by joint economic ventures.

The EU as a form of economic integration has a fundamental stake in Russia’s accession, as no economic co-operation can remain profitable in the long-term if it becomes externally dependent as a result of its activities. And the EU is not self-sufficient in either fuel or raw materials. Within a short time is will become self-evident that Russia’s EU membership is primarily of benefit to EU member states, leading to the inevitability of a new expansion policy direction. In so far as EU-Russian relations grow stronger it is in Hungary’s interest to make the most of the opportunities presented by its geographical advantage and to develop active co-operations.