The Realisation of European Union Political Elites' Interests in the Caspian Region

Abstract

One of the key issues for European Union political elites is determining how to engage with Caspian littoral states and increase their influence on Caspian regional politics. The main directions of EU activities in the region, its legal foundations and practical steps are analysed in this article. The author studies the main problems and difficulties faced by the political elites of the European Union in the Caspian region, and also considers the current challenges and prospects for the successful realisation of their interests. The author substantiates the point of view that the influence of European elites on the policy of the Caspian countries is increasing every year, which is reflected in the political decision-making of the governments of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. At the same time, the main task of the EU is to weaken the influence of Russia and Iran, primarily in the energy sphere. The aim of this paper is to study the directions of activity of the political elites of the European Union in the Caspian region and related political and economic processes. The research is based on an interdisciplinary approach, as well as systemic, comparative and institutional methods. As a result of the analysis of modern domestic and foreign scientific literature and nor-mative legal acts, the main political-economic tasks of European elites in the Caspian region were identified. The research findings will allow us to continue studying regional political processes and forecast the ways of further development of relations between the represented parties.

Keywords

• geopolitics;
• european union;
• caspian region;
• political processes;
• cooperation;
• resources;
• transport corridors;
• elites;
• energy market;
• partnership