Analyzing Coherence in EU's Foreign Policy Towards Russia Case: EU's Relations towards Russia in 2014-2020

Abstract

Coherence, understood as "the absence of contradiction and existence of synergies between various policies, instruments and activities…" (Koenig 2015) has been a major concern in European studies literature. While much has been written on vertical and horizontal coherence in the EU's foreign policy, still unclear what is the relationship between them. Paper identifies the sources of coherence by analyzing how horizontal coherence was generated in EU's foreign policy towards Russia in 2014-2020. Having liberal intergovernmentalism as guiding theory, it investigates decision-making process in the intergovernmental bodies. After refuting alternative explanations study confirms that benefits of integration process play the main role in member states' decision to go against their short-term calculations and preserve unanimity in the European council.