Eastern Partnership states benefit from free trade agreements with the EU, but gain little from similar agreements with Russia

The Ukraine crisis illustrated the extent to which Eastern Partnership states can be torn between pursuing closer integration with the EU or with Russia. Outlining results from a recent study, Inmaculada Martinez-Zarzoso writes that when the effects of free trade agreements are compared, Eastern Partnership states stand to benefit substantially from agreements with the EU, but gain little from similar agreements with Russia. Nevertheless, she argues that the best policy for Eastern Partnership countries is to pursue free trade with both East and West, and that the EU should conduct a dialogue with Russia to create a free-trade zone from ‘Lisbon to Vladivostok’.