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AbstractThe ongoing war at the immediate borders of the European Union (EU) poses the greatest security risk Europe has known since the end of the Second World War. Although the entire continent is on high alert, the proximity to the conflict is definitely an important factor to consider when assessing security risks. In this regard, not only is Moldova at Ukraine's border, but its recent history (especially the frozen conflict in Transnistria) and the complicated relations with Russia, add to enhancing people's fears and uncertainty. Moreover, the closed cultural, historical and ethnic ties that Moldova shares with Romania – a NATO and EU member – often fuel Russia's threat perceptions to its Transistrian proxy. Within this context, this paper aims to assess the attitudes that Moldovans – a population that is traditionally divided between West and East, between EU (respectively Romania) and Russia – display towards their own identity and the path that their country should embrace in this difficult geopolitical design through mixed methods research. The main findings indicate a clear shift in Moldovans' attitudes towards a stronger alignment with European integration that is also reflected in the preference regarding their country's future geopolitical path.

In the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis, the ongoing debate concerning the best course of action that the West should take in order to better handle Russia still sparks the academia and the decision-makers. Thus, the European continent is once again divided, bringing back chills from the Cold War era. Although the current adopted measures, namely the economic sanctions on Russia's energy and financial sectors, have undoubtedly exerted considerable pressure on the Russian economy, isolating it from the Western world, they have not changed, at least for now, President Putin's overall strategic vision. Within this context, the current paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the nature of the EU and Russia relations, in order to shed some light over the current deadlock. Overall, the research aims, through an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the complex relations between the two actors, based on an evaluation of their economic interdependence and culminating with the exploration of its significance for their international political ties, considering the current economic and political context.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.11.18501

The interdependence is definitely the most common concept used to describe the relations between the EU and Russia. Nevertheless, despite their obvious interdependence, there are still a series of debates in literature which usually arise when it comes to describing its typology and its implications, especially in the analysis at the Member States level. Moreover, given the complexity and variety of relations between the EU-27 and the Russian Federation, the present study aims to outline a comprehensive picture of the interdependence between the two actors at a regional level by conducting a comparative analysis of the European Union Member States according to their interdependence with Russia, considering energy as the main aspect of their relations. In this sense, the scientific approach will focus on a comparative analysis of the mutual energy dependencies between the member states and Russia, in order to characterize the interdependence typologies, as well as to identify the distribution of cost and advantages.

Since its latest enlargements, the European Union has constantly developed various actions and initiatives in order to secure its borders and consequently to be surrounded by countries with dynamic economies and secure and stable political situations. So far, the presence of the union in its Eastern neighbourhood did not have the expected outcome. Where has the European Neighbourhood Policy failed? How is the European Union perceived by its neighbours: social partner, protector, sponsor or regional hegemonic? Is the Eastern Partnership sufficient to revive the Eastern dimension of the ENP? This paper will focus on answering these questions by connecting the theoretical framework of the neighbourhood policy with the existing empirical evidence through an interdisciplinary approach.

Every EU enlargement signified a step towards Central and Eastern Europe, therefore, the 2004 "big bang enlargement", followed by the one in 2007, modified the geopolitical context within the "old continent" and also increased the importance of the European Union regionally, as well as globally. Integrating the ex-soviet countries into the EU meant taking them out of the Russian sphere of influence, as well as attempting to super size the EU territory in order to increase the European power on a long term. Despite the weakening of Russia after the Cold War, the federation still represents a challenge regarding "pax europea", as Russia still has an amazing military capacity, as well as important natural resources. The entrance into the Russian sphere of influence, the European energetic dependency on Russia, the conflicts within the separatist regions situated at the EU eastern borders are just few of the many challenges regarding the relations between the European Union and Russia.

L'une des limites spécifiques importantes de l'UE dans sa politique européenne de voisinage est représentée par un rapport inadéquat à la Russie. De cette perspective, ce travail propose une réorientation de la diplomatie publique de l'Union envers la Russie, en tant que dimension de sa communication stratégique. Le concept clé est « l'anti-révolutionnisme » comme trait essentiel des mentalités collectives du peuple russe, à la suite des recherches empiriques faites sur la base d'interviews directes avec des experts russes. ; A General Perspective on the European Union's Public Diplomacy Towards Russia One of the most significant specific limitations of the European Neighborhood Policy is the inadequacy of the European Union's relationship with Russia. From this perspective, this article suggests how the European Union's public diplomacy towards Russia can be reoriented, as a dimension of the EU's strategic communication. Empirical research conducted through direct interviews with Russian experts has brought out a key concept: "anti-revolutionism," understood as an essential trait of the collective mentality of the Russian people.

In the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis, the ongoing debate concerning the best course of action that the West should take in order to better handle Russia still sparks the academia and the decision-makers. Thus, the European continent is once again divided, bringing back chills from the Cold War era. Although the current adopted measures, namely the economic sanctions on Russia's energy and financial sectors, have undoubtedly exerted considerable pressure on the Russian economy, isolating it from the Western world, they have not changed, at least for now, President Putin's overall strategic vision. Within this context, the current paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the nature of the EU and Russia relations, in order to shed some light over the current deadlock. Overall, the research aims, through an interdisciplinary approach to analyse the complex relations between the two actors, based on an evaluation of their economic interdependence and culminating with the exploration of its significance for their international political ties, considering the current economic and political context.