EUROPEAN UNION’S ENGAGEMENT WITH CENTRAL ASIA

Abstract

Over the past decade, the European Union (EU) has become an active player in Central Asia promoting energy and cyber security besides economic and political engagements. EU and Central Asian states are also engaged to counter extremism, terrorism, drugs and human trafficking. Furthermore, EU assists the region for good governance and institution building. Central Asia has become an important asset for EU’s future energy security prospects. This region provides EU with an alternative choice especially with regards to its persistent energy dependencies upon Russia. This article attempts to assess EU’s growing interests within Central Asia. It finds that Russia and China are the major competitors for EU in energy and cyber security. Similarly, landlocked nature of Central Asia and no direct border connections between the two regions force EU to rely on Russia for its energy imports from Central Asia. the BRI project may intensify EU’s engagement with the later. EU has to go a long way and work hard in order to strengthen its position into the region. Investment into educational and cultural areas is the need of time for EU. This research is exploratory, analytical, and critical.