ASTANA—Central Asia is a region with its own dynamics and should be dealt with on its own, not as a secondary issue linked to conflicts in neighboring regions, Luca Anceschi, professor of Eurasian studies at the University of Glasgow, said in an interview with The Astana Times.
Anchechi has spent over a decade studying Eurasian geopolitics. Photo credit: gla.ac.uk
“Amazing place”
“It’s a beautiful place,” Ancesi said of the European Union’s longstanding ties with Central Asia.
“Because for 20 years we have been talking about how we should engage with Central Asia in our relations with other regions. The reality is that Central Asia is not like other regions.” said Ancheschi, who has spent more than a decade studying Eurasian geopolitics.
EU-Central Asia relations have come a long way over the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In 2007, the EU adopted its first strategy for Central Asia. In 2019, the 28-member bloc adopted a new strategy.
Kazakhstan is the first country in Central Asia to sign the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) with the EU. This is a so-called second generation agreement covering 29 areas of cooperation. The document was signed in 2015 and entered into force in March 2020.
To date, only Kazakhstan has signed such an agreement with the EU. Negotiations between the Kyrgyz Republic and the EU were concluded in July 2019, but the agreement has not yet been signed.
A similar situation exists in Uzbekistan, which concluded negotiations regarding the EPCA in July 2022. Tajikistan and Turkmenistan lag far behind their Central Asian partners in terms of EPCA negotiations.
January resolution of the European Parliament
In January, the European Parliament issued a resolution on the EU’s regional strategy, emphasizing that Central Asia is a “region of strategic importance for the EU in terms of security and connectivity, energy and resource diversification, conflict resolution, and the defence of the multilateral rules-based international order.”
The report calls on the EU to step up its engagement in the region and promote cooperation at the political and economic levels.Central Asia and the EU have been experiencing increased high-level contacts, including a recent meeting between Central Asian leaders and European Council President Charles Michel in Cholpon-Ata in June 2023.
“This document does a good job because it recognizes that there have been significant and dramatic changes in Eurasia as a result of the Ukraine war,” Anchesi said.
Central Asia Agenda
But there is one thing about the document that has Anchechi being cautious about.
“There is one small aspect: many of the declarations [resolution] “In January, I spoke about the war in Ukraine. Now, the main problem the US has raised with regard to Central Asia is that it has looked at the region only through the lens of what is happening in Afghanistan. The EU doesn’t need to make the same mistake,” the professor said.
In his view, Central Asia is a region that “if we are interested in Russia or Ukraine, we need to address it in its own right, not as a region of secondary importance.”
“We need a strategy that is specific to Central Asia,” Ancheschi added. “Whether there is a war or not, this region should be important to Brussels’ activities.”
He also disagrees with the rhetoric that geopolitical developments are drawing more attention to the region. He noted that Central Asian leaders have generally responded cautiously to the Ukraine war, often emphasizing their commitment to neutrality and non-intervention in the conflict.
“Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the two most important countries in the region. They were not seen by the Russian camp during the war and were in a very comfortable position. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are different from Belarus. But on the other hand, they did not openly denounce the war. Presidents Tokayev and Mirziyoyev were quite capable of finding themselves in this liminal space, this comfortable space in which they could navigate comfortably,” the professor said.
EU commitment to the region
Regarding the EU’s wider engagement in the region, Anceschi said its aim was to leave its mark as a successful donor country in the region.
The EU accounts for about a third of the region’s trade, according to data on the European Commission’s website, but the figures remain low.
The EU is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, trade volume reached $7.2 billion from January to February this year. In 2023, this figure will reach $42.6 billion.
The first EU-Central Asia Economic Forum will take place in November 2021, the second in May 2023. The third forum is planned to take place in 2025.
“The EU is the largest donor in Central Asia, and in fact I believe the EU should be an actor in promoting civil society, good governance and the rule of law, and actually improving people’s lives,” he said.
He believes the EU cannot “become a major player” because it lacks “strategic capacity” compared to its neighbors, and cannot compete with “Russia’s long-standing cultural, linguistic, economic and political ties” or “China’s economic power over the past decade.”
“The EU does not have the money or the capacity to influence like China, so there is no strategic competition, but a careful evaluation of a set of goals will help the EU achieve tangible compatibility in the region.” “Once we recognize that we can play a possible role, we will see what that strategy will bring,” he said.
At the same time, Central Asia can benefit from capacity-building provided by the EU.
“Central Asia will benefit from being part of closer relations with the EU. What is great is that this EPCA establishes a very concrete set of areas of cooperation. At the same time, human rights “There are benchmarks such as dialogues, ministerial meetings and bilateral visits, which means developing relations through a series of regular steps that must be taken every year,” he said.
