With or without the European Union? Understanding EU member states' choice of how to engage with the Russian Federation.

This paper explores whether, how and to what extent the foreign policy choices of EU member states are affected by their progressive integration into the supranational organization. Policy-makers and analysts alike have deplored the proclivity of EU member states to prioritise the pursuit of 'special' bilateral relations with powerful non- EU states such as Russia, the US and China, at the expense of a joint pursuit of relations at the European level. To date, scholars have focused predominantly on exploring the development of common foreign policies towards powerful non-EU states, in terms of both process and substance, while scant attention has been paid to the question of how, why and to what extent national governments pursue their foreign relations with these states at the European or the bilateral level. In particular, we know little about what motivates national governments' choice against cooperation although the fact that member governments frequently opt for a bilateral engagement with important non-EU states is well documented. This paper seeks to explain national foreign policy choices by using the example of member states' relations with the Russian Federation. It explores their choices on energy supply policy and trade disputes during the 2000s. The findings indicate that whereas much emphasis is placed on the need for governments to make 'appropriate' foreign policy choices in the official rhetoric, in practice national governments tend to place great emphasis on the utility of their choice, and not on whether it is 'appropriate'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]