Few issues elicit so much passion and anger in otherwise sterile European Union politics as Russia's energy power. Concerns over the big Eastern neighbor have consumed EU summits over the past year more than all other European matters put together. Too often Europe's approach has oscillated between short-sighted interest in the next energy deal and utopian confidence in its capacity to influence Russia's strategic thinking.
Brussels' strategy for dealing with Moscow has principally been commercial. By making Russia dependent on European markets and investors, the EU hoped it could get Moscow to respect international commercial and political rules and become a good world citizen. The core of this strategy was to guide Russia into the World Trade Organization and subsequently lead the region toward a grand trade pact, including former Soviet Union countries outside the EU.
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